Elias
by Government Patsy
Summary: Set right after 'Millenium'. Mulder and Scully find an orphan named Elias and Scully immediately comes to love the kid. Will she ever be able to adopt him? A lot of romance between our two favorite agents.
1. The big sleep over

_Author's note:  
I've rearranged the storyline a bit. This story takes place right after 'Millennium' but the episodes up to 'Je Souhaite' have already happened. I've basically just taken 'Requiem' out of season 7 and placed 'Millennium' as the last episode.  
It's not important for this story, but I think a lot happened in season 7 that's important for the MSR to grow and how they left things in 'Millennium' would be a perfect way to begin this story._

* * *

Chapter 1 – The big sleep over

He still had his arm around her as they walked out of the hospital. Scully's mind was determined not to think about anything else but Mulder. She tried. She tried hard. But she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. That wonderful kiss. She wondered if it had meant the same for him as it had for her. Usually Mulder would open the door for Scully but tonight she did it for him, due to the injuries he had acquired. The doors in the car were unlocked. They had been in such a hurry they had forgotten. Thankfully there weren't a lot of people around.

"So… my place or yours?" Mulder asked flirtatious.

"Excuse me?" Scully answered.

"Well, you need to take care of me. I can't do anything with this arm, Scully! It _is_ your duty as my personal doctor!" he pointed out.

"It is, huh? I guess you can sleep on my couch for the time being", she told him.

"Couldn't I sleep in the bed next to you?" he asked in his hurt puppy way.

"Don't push your luck, Mulder!" she said and pulled up by her building.

Scully opened the door to the backseat to retreat Mulder's jacket and that's when she saw him. He was lying on the backseat sleeping. He didn't look like a homeless boy. He was wearing blue jeans and a grey sweatshirt. He had brown hair, a bit darker than Mulder's and he had an gold earring in his left ear.

"Mulder!" Scully exclaimed. "Come take a look at this!"

"What is it, Scully?" Mulder asked as he walked towards the car again. "What the hell? Where does he come from?" Mulder asked shocked.

"He must have snuck while we were in the hospital. What should we do?" she asked worried for the boy's parents. She thought he was probably running away from home.

"Let's wake him, Scully", Mulder decided and looked at Scully.

Scully ran her hand through the little boy's hair and said: "Hello there?"

The boy sat up in shock at the two persons standing before him. He noticed he wasn't by the hospital anymore. This calmed him down a bit. He was glad to have escaped.

"Hi", he simply said. "Where are we?" he asked bewildered and looked directly at Scully with his beautiful dark hazel eyes.

"This is where I live. We didn't notice you were in the car until now. What's your name?" she asked him and squatted so she was at the same level as the boy.

"Elias", he told them without hesitation.

"Hi Elias. I'm Dana and this is Fox", she told him and pointed to Mulder who waved at the boy. Elias laughed a bit at Mulder's first name.

"That's not a name!" he said and laughed. This made Mulder and Scully smile wide.

"Why were you in the car, Elias?" Scully asked still smiling.

"I don't want to live at the orphanage", Elias said close to crying.

This took Scully aback a little. What was she going to say to that? That it probably was a nice place? That it wasn't that bad? Fortunately Mulder stepped in.

"How old are you, Elias?" he asked.

"Five", the boy sniffled.

"And why do think you're going to an orphanage?" Mulder questioned.

"My mom and dad are dead" he said and now looked at Mulder with his big eyes. "And they told me I was going to an orphanage, because they couldn't find a foster family for me. And I don't any grandparents!"

"Would you like to sleep here tonight? Then we can talk to someone about it tomorrow", Scully offered.

"Alright", Elias said a bit relieved.

He jumped out of the car and took Scully's hand. Her heart melted for the little boy. She knew how hard it had been to lose her dad, and she had been a grown-up. They walked into her apartment and she turned the lights on. Everything looked clean and in place.

"Are you hungry, Elias?" she asked him.

He shook his head and she saw how tired he looked.

"You want to go to sleep?" she asked him.

He nodded and gave her a weak smile.

"You can sit in that chair while I make the couch for you", she told him and pointed on one of the chairs in the room.

Elias walked over to the chair and climbed onto it. Mulder sat on a chair next to him. The little boy looked curious up at Mulder.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked him.

Mulder didn't think the truth was the best idea this time. Zombies probably wasn't what he was going to explain it with. He thought for a little while.

"I… ehh… can't really talk about. It's confidential", he tried to explain but the boy just looked weird at him.

"I'm an FBI agent!" Mulder said and showed Elias his batch.

Now Elias eyes went wide open. "Wauw!" he exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

Scully returned from her bedroom and began make the couch. Mulder looked at her with a dreamy look. He thought about how beautiful she was. And he thought about their wonderful kiss. He could still taste her lips.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Elias asked in a whisper not audible to Scully.

"What?" Mulder whispered back. "No! But she's my best friend."

"You can't be friends with girls!" the little boy told him.

"She's a cool girl", he tried to clarify.

Elias just made a grimace and shrugged. Then he looked at Mulder's arm again. He wondered what could have happened.

"You ready to sleep, Elias?" Scully asked as she was done making the couch ready.

The boy nodded and walked over to the couch. Scully sat down next to him. He took her hand and looked at her with plead.

"Promise you'll stay till I fall asleep?" he said to her.

"Okay", she said. "I promise."

Elias shut his eyes but his little hand held on to Scully's. After a few minutes when his breathing had become more like a small snoring and his hold on her hand loosened she was sure he was asleep. She walked over to lock the door as Mulder walked up to her.

"So… does I get to spend a night with the lovely Dana Scully?" he asked going back to his flirtatious voice from earlier.

"I guess you do, Mulder", she answered him not seeing any other possibility. "But no funny business!" she warned him.

"I wouldn't dream of it", he said not sounding very convincing.

A few moments later Mulder and Scully was lying next to each other in Scully's bed. They were both lying on their backs facing the ceiling.

"What do you think will happen to him?" Scully asked Mulder.

"I don't know", he answered honest. "But he seems like a nice boy. I hope they'll find a good family to him."

"Imagine losing your parents when you're only five years old. I can't even remember being five. Maybe he'll never remember his parents", Scully said in a sad mood.

"Of course he will remember them, Scully. Or maybe he will have so many good experiences with a new family that he won't remember any of the bad things that has happened to him. Then he will just live with the fact that once he had other parents but then he got some new ones. He can still have a good life", Mulder tried to calm her.

"Yeah… I hope he will."

It was evident that Scully already had feelings for the boy. He was very special to her. Truth was that Mulder felt the same way. It was like he was destined to find them. Mulder promised himself he wouldn't stop before he found the best family for Elias. It was his new mission. Mulder thought about the kiss again. It was the best kiss he had ever had. And there hadn't even been any tongue involved. Tonight he had learned how truly amazing Dana Scully was. And he knew for sure they were going somewhere. Someday soon they were going to be together. He knew Scully would need some time to really fathom this. But he intended on pushing her a bit in the right direction. To leave a few hints. Make even more moves on her than he already did.

"What are you doing, Mulder?" Scully asked a bit of fear mixed with surprise in her voice.

"Just moving a bit closer to you, Scully", he said as he had moved so close to her that their sides were touching.

"Stop it!" she told him but made attempt of pushing him away.

"Cuddle with me, Scully!" he whispered as he ran his nose along her cheek.

"Your nose is cold, Mulder!" she said and gave him a little push but it was hardly enough to move him anywhere.

"Then warm me, Scully! Come on, let me spoon you", he begged.

"What?" Scully exclaimed and moved her head to see if this was really her Mulder.

"It's not like I'm asking to _fork_ you", he stated with a wide smile on his face. "Come on! My arm hurts and I need some comfort to make it better. I need you, Scully!"

Scully wanted nothing more than to grant him permission to do whatever he wanted. But she knew how wrong it would be. He was her partner. Her friend. She wasn't willing to risk their relationship over a short affair. But like Mulder said, it wasn't a _fork_! She already regretted doing this, nonetheless she couldn't help it.

"Alright, Mulder. But no groping!" she strictly told him and turned her back to him.

He immediately spooned up behind her. He hadn't thought she would have permitted him to do this but he was more than happy she had.

"I can't with this arm anyways, Scully", he said as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck tickling her with his nose.

"Mulder!" she laughed. "That tickles!"

"Mmh…" was all he could manage to say.

He had his arm around her waist. It wasn't really hurting that much anymore and he had thrown the sling away. They both felt unbelievable safe and fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

What the hell was that? Scully usually awakened slowly but today she had been awakened rather fast. Something hard was pressing against her but. And Mulder's right hand was cupping her left breast. She knew he would wake up if she moved his arm away, because he would be able to feel the jolts of pain his injury would give him. Maybe pain wasn't so bad, she thought for a second. But she couldn't have him realize what he was doing. It would be too embarrassing. She didn't have time to figure out a solution, because now Mulder's was beginning to wake up. She just pretended she was still asleep.

"Woops…" she could hear him mumble as he removed his hand back to her waist.

When he realized just how good his dreams had been he rolled onto his back. He knew how embarrassed Scully would be if she found out. After a couple of minutes trying not to think of Scully he had finally calmed down. He saw that Scully was awake too now.

"Good morning, sunshine", he greeted her.

"'morning", she mumbled. "You hungry?"

"Absolutely famished", he stated.

Scully went out to the kitchen to prepare something for the three of them to eat. She read the time on the microwave. It was 9.23. As she took the supplies for pancakes out of the fridge Elias walked over to her.

"Good morning, Elias!" she said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yep", he answered and stretched. "What are you making?"

"Pancakes. Do you like pancakes?" she asked him knowing almost every child did.

"Yeah", he said exited. "Can I help you make them?"

"Sure. Just go get dressed and then you can help me."

Elias ran to the couch and pulled his jeans and sweatshirt over his boxers and t-shirt. Within 30 seconds he was back in the kitchen, ready to help her cook.

Mulder came into the kitchen ten minutes later. He was wearing his pants and his undershirt from the day before. He couldn't help smile at the sight that met him. Scully showing Elias how to turn a pancake in the air. The little boy thought she was awesome.

"Hi, Eli. Did you sleep okay?" he asked him.

"Mhm", the boy answered.

"Elias? Could you help Mulder set the table while I make the rest?"

The little boy nodded and carried the plates and glasses, which Mulder took from the pantry, to the table. They all ate in silence until Elias spoke.

"If I should be friends with a girl it would be someone like Ms. Dana too", he said directed to Mulder.

"I told you she was cool!" Mulder said and winked at Scully.

"Do you also work for the FBI?" he asked Scully.

"Yeah I do", she told Elias. "Mulder and I are partners."

"Why do you call him Mulder when his name is Fox", he asked not really getting it.

"Mulder is my last name. I like it better when Scully calls me that. That's why I call her by her last name too", Mulder answered.

"Fox is a silly name", the little boy once again laughed at Mulder's hilarious name.

Mulder and Scully smiled at each other. In this moment Mulder dreaded that the boy had to leave. He wished he could stay with Scully. He knew she would miss him. She liked children so much, but because of him she would never have any.

"I am going home to take a shower and change clothes", Mulder stated as they had finished the breakfast. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

"I thought you lived here!" Elias said surprised.

"No, Mulder has his own apartment!" Scully told him.

"So you just had a sleep over?" Elias asked.

"Yeah", Mulder laughed. "We had a sleep over!"

* * *

_Like it? Dislike it? Want me to continue? I have many ideas for this story, but if you doesn't like, just tell me :)_


	2. Mine?

_Author's note:  
Long chapter, I know :) There are probably a lot of facts I got wrong in this chapter. All my knowledge is based on movies and television! But I tried to be reasonable – probably failed some, but please bear with me._

* * *

Chapter 2 – Mine?

Scully had no idea what to do when Mulder had left. The little boy sat on her couch and stared into empty space. What were they going to do until Mulder came back? She wanted for Elias to think of her as cool. She liked that.

"So..?" she asked and sat down next to him on the couch. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know", he simply said. "Do you have any good music?"

Music? Sure Scully had music. But she doubted there was anything the five-year-old would find interesting.

"Let's take a look at it", she said and they moved to her collection of CD's. "You probably don't know any of it. Most of it is old music."

"Old music is the best!" Elias said. "I wanna hear this!" he said as he eyed an Elvis Presley CD.

"Oh! That's actually a gift from Mulder", she told him.

"You must be _really_ good friends if he gives you _this _good presents!" he stated.

It was a greatest hits album and to Scully's surprise Elias knew more of the songs than she did. When 'Return to sender' came on his eyes went crazy and he danced around in the whole room. This was one of the songs that Scully could sing along to, so she joined him. As the song was done and they had danced like there was no tomorrow, he turned to her.

"You're the coolest girl I know!" he told her.

"Thanks, Elias", she said rather touched by the little guy's words. "You know this song?" she asked him as an unknown song played next.

"Yeah!" he said. "_Mmmm, kiss me quick, while we still have this feeling, uh oh_…" he sang along and began to dance again.

Scully danced with him again. Elias liked that. He took her hands in his and began to twist. Scully laughed and did the same. They didn't even notice Mulder walk in, due to the very loud music.

Mulder had heard the music from the hallway outside Scully's apartment, but hadn't believed that the sweet sound of the king was playing from her home. When he saw Scully and Elias dancing his heart melted. It was the sweetest and most beautiful thing he had ever seen. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought it to be a mother and her son fooling around at home. He wished it were.

"_For tomorrows can be so uncertain, love can fly and leave just burden. Kiss me quick, because I love you so! Love you so! Love you so!_" Mulder sang and made some very Elvis-like moves.

This caught Scully and Elias' attention and they both cracked up by the sight of Mulder trying to impersonate Elvis, which he did rather well Elias thought.

When the song was done Scully turned the music off, gaining some sad looks from her two guys. That was weird. When did she refer to Mulder as her guy? And Elias for that matter? Oh well, it wasn't on purpose and it wouldn't happen again, she tried to convince herself.

"Hey!" they said in unison and made a sad look. "Just one more song?" Mulder begged.

"Enough Elvis for one day, guys! Elias, we need to talk about what we're going to do with you", she told him and sat down in the couch.

"Can't we just dance?" he asked in a hurt voice, which broke the two FBI agents' hearts.

"Scully is right, E! We need to have a talk", he told him and sat down on the couch too signaling for the boy to do the same.

"Okay", he said and sat down next to Scully. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Do you remember the names of any of the social workers involved in your case? We need to contact them and tell them that you're okay! And then we will help find a family for you", Mulder said.

"I've only met one woman. Her name is Fiona. Fiona… ehh… Wayne or Walker or something", he tried to recall her name.

"My godparents died years ago and they were the only friends my parents ever had. Mom and dad was my only family! There's nowhere I can go now. I'm going to an orphanage, and I will probably get teased by the other kids there and I'll never see my friends again or you…" he stopped talking as his eyes spilled over with tears.

Scully pulled him into her lap. She knew he needed to cry. She understood some of his pain. Mulder ran his hand up and down the boy's back trying to soothe him. After a minute or so, the sobs evened out, and he finally stopped crying.

"I understand, Elias. It's okay to cry for your mom and dad. It's only naturally to miss them", she told him.

"But I don't miss them!" he told her now not crying at all as he looked at her with his red puffy eyes. "They didn't love me. They were never even home. I can't even remember which color their eyes had. I'm just sad I'm going to an orphanage!"

This took both Mulder and Scully by surprise.

"Oh!" was all Scully could say.

She suddenly hated his parents and was glad he wasn't with them anymore. Of course she didn't like that they were dead, but she was just relieved that Elias didn't have to live like that anymore. She hoped that Mulder and she would find the best family possible for him.

"Don't worry, Eli", Mulder told him as he smiled at him. "We'll never let you go to an orphanage. If we can't find a family for you, you'll just stay with us!"

Scully looked surprised at Mulder, but he knew that she would like that just as much as he would.

"You promise?" the boy said suddenly high hope in his voice.

"Yeah, we promise!" Scully said. "You've only been here for half a day, but we both already like you a lot."

"Do you really?" he asked. He couldn't believe that somebody actually cared for him. This was a strange but nice feeling.

"Yeah! You're probably the only five-year-old in the world who even knows who Elvis is, and know all his songs by heart! Let's face it, E! You're the coolest kid in the world. Any couple would be crazy if they didn't love you!" Mulder said, trying to forget that he had mistakenly just referred to him and Scully as a couple.

"Can't I just stay here then?" he asked almost in a whisper.

"Would you like to live with Scully?" Mulder asked.

The boy nodded and pressed himself against Scully as he closed his eyes, afraid of rejection.

"Then we will fight for you!" Scully said. "But it probably isn't gonna be easy, Elias!" she told him not wanting to give him high expectations.

* * *

Few minutes later Mulder and Elias watched some 'Looney tunes' movie Mulder had brought while Scully made one of the most important phone calls in her life.

"Could I speak to a Fiona working in your department?" she asked as she had reached DCFS.

"_Fiona Wilkins" the woman told her. _

"Hello, you're talking with Dana Scully; I'm an FBI-agent. Last night I found a boy called Elias in my car and he told me you know him", she tried to explain.

"_I'm glad to hear he's okay. I was really worried when he disappeared from the hospital! Why are you first calling now?"_

"I didn't notice him asleep on the backseat until I was home. He was pretty upset, because he thinks he's going to an orphanage, so I let him sleep on my couch. I didn't think I would be able to reach anybody on New Year's Eve anyway", she told the woman in all honesty.

"_He probably will go to an orphanage. There are no available foster families for him. And he doesn't have any relatives", she said sounding sad for the boy._

"I thought maybe he could stay with me. We have a very good connection, and he asked me if he could stay here. I'm willing to do anything to keep him!" she said.

"_I'll need to evaluate you as a fit parent. And he will need to stay with you for a trial period before you can adopt him. But if you're an FBI-agent, it is probably not going to be hard to get permission."_

"That sounds good!" Scully exclaimed.

"_I'll come over to pay a visit later on today. If you could just tell me where you live?"_

"Yeah sure", Scully told her and was relieved and a bit surprised at how easy this seemed.

* * *

Mulder could feel the conversation with the social worker had gone well when Scully joined them in the living room. Mulder paused the movie. This made Elias realize that Scully had joined them again.

"Can I stay?" he asked, fear evident in his shaky voice.

"Ms. Wilkins will stop by later, but so far you can stay", Scully told Elias, who immediately swung his arms around her neck. Scully hugged him back.

"Are you going to be my new mom?" he asked now a bit confused too.

Scully didn't how to respond to this. "Not if you don't want me to. I could just be like an aunt if you prefer that", she told him. "I understand if you don't want a new mom already!"

"I would like a mom", he said. "But I don't want to call you mom! That just reminds me of my old mom."

"You could call me Dana?" she offered.

"Can I give you a nickname?" he asked.

Mulder laughed a bit at this. He knew she wasn't going to say no.

"What would that be?" she asked worried.

"Could I call you Scully?" he exclaimed happy. "Like he calls you" he said and pointed at Mulder.

"Ohhh! Yeah, of course. You can call me Scully", she said a bit relieved. "Should I continue calling you Elias?"

"Yep. I like the way you say it", he told her. Mulder smiled at this, knowing exactly what he meant.

"But I don't want to call _you_ Fox!" Elias said and laughed. "And I can't say Mulder in such a cool way as Scully."

"Then what are you going to call me?" Mulder asked, now he was the worried one.

Elias detected Mulder's fear a lot better than he had Scully's and decided to prank him.

"Hmm…" he said as if he was deciding on something. "Maybe Jebediah… or Elton John… or what about Norman?"

There it was. Mulder's beautiful and loveable panic face. Scully laughed, and first then Mulder realized that Elias was making fun of him.

"Hey!" he said. "That's not fair!" he said and picked Elias up and tickled him.

It turned out Elias was extreme ticklish. He tried to escape, but Mulder held no mercy.

"Stop it!" he laughed. "Come on… I have a really cool name for you!" he tried to bargain.

It was working. Mulder sat him down again and looked at him skeptically.

"Alright… What is it?" Mulder said interested.

"First, promise me, that you'll call me Elvis, if you like the name I have for you?" he said and gained a sweet laugh from Scully.

"Okay", Mulder said doubting the boy had come up with a name he really liked.

"I could call you Marvin!" he said proud. "You know, like Marvin the Martian!"

Both Mulder and Scully laughed at this. He really could read Mulder like an open book. How could such a little boy have got onto that much in less than a day?

"Alright", Mulder finally managed to say. "You'll call me Marvin and I'll call you Elvis!"

* * *

Scully was taking a shower which left Mulder and Elias, aka Marvin and Elvis, planning something grand for when she was done.

"Alright, Elvis. She's on her way now, I can hear her. You hit the music when I turn the lights on!"

"Got it, Marvin", he said in a serious voice.

Scully pulled her sweater over her head, and began to walk against the door. But when she opened it she was met with a dark room. Someone had pulled the curtains down and shut all the lights off.

"Guys?" she asked.

She moved towards the light switch but when was standing in the middle of the room green and red lights filled the whole living room, as they were blinking from light chains hanging in the ceiling. It looked like they had found her Christmas decoration. Some music was turned on and the dynamic duo, Marvin and Elvis, stood in front of her as they sang.

"_You look like an angel, walk like an angel, talk like an angel_" it was totally out of key, but Scully thought it was very sweet.

Then the song changed from its slow paste to something a bit wilder, and they sang.

"_But I got wise… You're the devil in disguise, oh yes you are, the devil in disguise_…" as they sang the wild part they danced around her in circles.

"Hey!" she said trying to sound upset. "I'm no devil!"

"Sure you are, Scully!" Mulder yelled back trying to be heard over the very loud music. "Devils got red hair, don't they, Elvis?"

"Yep", Elias grinned.

"You asked for it!" Scully warned them as she ran after both Mulder and Elias.

"Run, Elvis! IT'S THE DEVIL!" Mulder said and they ran around the room.

Finally Scully caught Mulder and she tripped him so he fell towards the floor. He hit it pretty hard, but Scully just sat on top of him.

"Now apologize!" she told him as she sat on his back and held his arms in a firm grip.

"Never!" he said.

Just as he had said this Elias came flying and jumped onto Scully's back. This made her lose her grip on Mulder for a second and he escaped. She ran after him with the boy hanging on her back. Elias laughed. It was like a rollercoaster, the way he was bounced up and down as Scully ran. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Mulder opened it, while Scully turned the music off and switched her regular lights on again.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was told that a Dana Scully lived here. Do you know where she lives?" the voice of Fiona Wilkins said to Mulder.

"She does live here!" he informed her. "Come on inside."

"Hi Ms. Wilkins. I'm Dana Scully", she told the woman and shook her hand with Elias on her back still.

"Hello! And hello to you, Elias", she said and smiled to the boy.

Scully slid him off her back and sat him on the floor next to her. He looked shy up at the woman he had only met about ten minutes. He just nodded towards her.

"How are you doing, Elias?" she asked him.

"Okay", he answered and took Scully's hand. He was nervous that the strange woman was going to take him away from his new found friends.

"Dana told me you would like to live here!" she informed him.

"Can I?" he asked now looking at her hopefully.

"That all depends. I have to talk to some people first, but you seem to like it here", Elias nodded at this to confirm it. "So I'll do my best to keep you here. Do you know what will happen if you stay here, Elias?"

"She will be my new mom, but I don't have to call her that if I don't want to!" he said.

Ms. Wilkins smiled and looked at Scully again.

"I must say, Ms. Scully, you seem to have a very good connection", she stated with a smile. "But I need to talk to you in private for a while."

Scully nodded. She got Elias to watch 'Looney tunes' again. He had liked the movie. Then she looked at Mulder telling him to come with her for this. He nodded. Then they sat down by the table in front of the kind social worker.

"I'm sorry for thinking I had come to the wrong place. It's just that I had got the expression you were single when I talked to you on the phone", Ms. Wilkins told them.

"I am single. This is my partner, Fox Mulder!" she told her in an understanding voice.

"Oh! And the two of you socialize a lot when you're not on the job?" she asked.

"We're friends, if that's what you're asking", Mulder told her.

"Mulder were with me in the car when we found Elias. They're already become friends too", Scully told her and Mulder smiled approving.

"It's good he's making friends. And I can see he already cares for you a lot", she smiled. "But I'll need to tell you about his past. I don't know how much he has told you already, but he hasn't had the merriest of childhoods so far!"

"He has told us that much. He said his parents never were home, and that he didn't have any other relatives. That's pretty much it", Scully told her.

"That's true. His parents, Joseph and Sue Quinn, died late last night, but had been in the hospital since the 26'th. They were in a car accident and Elias had been taking care of himself meanwhile. He was apparently use to being home alone in longer periods of time. Yesterday his father was awake for a few seconds and told the nurse who they were and that they had a kid. We brought him to the hospital, but they were gone before he got there. Then when I went to get him something to drink he escaped", she told them.

"Neighbors told us that they were lawyers and didn't get home until very late every night. Elias has practically been taking care of himself since he was 4. We have been told that since some of his parents' friends died the couple changed. They didn't talk to any of their other friends anymore and began to work overtime", she said.

"That's horrible!" was all Scully could say. "And none of the neighbors reported this?"

"No. I'm pretty startled by this myself. But Elias seems like a bright kid. He didn't live far from here, and I think he would like to go to the same kindergarten", she informed them.

"Yes, of course", Scully answered.

After this all the social worker had left to talk to her about was her work habits and if there would be anyone to babysit on him when she wasn't home. Fortunately, Mrs. Scully didn't live far from her. Then Ms. Wilkins told her she would be able to be a foster parent for Elias. Scully would have to go to a hearing before she could adopt him; just to be sure she was a fit parent. It would probably be a while until the hearing, which left Scully time to get to know Elias better.

* * *

Scully couldn't believe it. He was hers. Her son. Mulder was just as exited. Neither did he feel so guilty about her being barren anymore. Now she had a child. A great child. And he was gonna help her raise him.

Afterwards they went out to buy him some new clothes. He told them most of his old clothes were too small anyway. They also bought a bed for him. Scully had a spare bed room. Now, she used it as a place to store all the things she didn't use anymore. She might as well just throw it out, she thought. Mulder were with them the whole day and he even bought some cool bed sheets for Elias. With aliens and spaceships of course. When they returned Elias was extremely tired. The bed wouldn't be there until the next day so Scully let him sleep in her bed for the night.

"Would you ever have imagined this two days ago?" Mulder asked her as they sat in the couch and had read Elias a goodnight story.

"Never. I can't believe how fast this has happened. I should probably call my mom and tell her!" she thought out loud.

"She'll be over thrilled with another grandson", Mulder said and smiled at Scully.

"Yeah", she said and smiled back.

They sat like this, smiling and looking into each other's eyes, for a few moments.

"It's late, Mulder", she grinned. "You better get home!"

"Are you kicking me out, Scully?" he smiled at her.

Why did he have to be this irresistible, adorable, loveable, and completely perfect? She couldn't help herself. She needed to taste him again. She hurried her lips onto his and took him by surprise. It began innocent enough, just like their last kiss had been, but then it became something more. His tongue slipped inside her mouth, and they could both feel their entire bodies on fire by this new intimate feeling.

She crawled on top of him, so she was straddling him, never stopping kissing. Her hands roamed his messy hair, and his held her close to him. In the need for air they broke the kiss reluctantly. They sat like that, forehead to forehead, trying to catch their breaths for a while.

"It's late", she said, but in a sweet voice.

"Mmmh", was all he could manage to say still short of breath from that fantastic breathtaking kiss.

She got to her feet and pulled him up from the couch. She took his hand and led him to the door.

"Drive carefully, Mulder", she said still in a sweet voice.

"Do you want me to come again tomorrow?" he asked still holding on to her hand.

"I would love that", she said.

He gave her a big hug. Then he was out the door and on his way home. Thinking of Scully the whole way. He thought about Elias too. His whole life seemed to have changed in a matter of a few days. He feared this was a dream, but when he pinched his arm he only felt a small jolt of pain travel through it.

* * *

_Would you like for Maggie to meet Elias next? You still like the story or is it too sweet?_


	3. Happiness and love

_Author's note:  
The MSR will blossom. Elias meets his grandma. Everything is good. Enjoy it, because next chapter is not gonna be as joyful :(_

* * *

Chapter 3 – Happiness and love

Weird! That was the only thought that crossed Maggie Scully as she had talked to her daughter on the phone late last night. She had told her, she had something important to tell her. First she had been worried, she thought it might be the cancer coming back to haunt her daughter, but she had sounded happy. Actually she was sounding happier than she had been in a long while. She wondered if it had something to do with Fox. She always liked her partner, and thought one day they would be more than just friends.

* * *

When Mulder woke up he felt joy in the pit of his stomach. He looked at his alarm clock and saw that it was only 7.30. Already he couldn't wait to see Elias and Scully. That kiss had really been something. And more importantly, she had started it. It showed that she did have some feelings for him. Unable to go back to sleep he got up, showered, got dressed and drove heading for Scully's. She had said it was okay he came. She had said she would love it. And he couldn't wait anymore.

Scully glanced at her watch. It was only 8.44. Who would be knocking on her door this early? She had a suspicion as to who it might be. When she looked through the peep hole, that suspicion got confirmed as she saw Mulder stand on the other side of the door, with an adorable smile on his face.

"Hey", he greeted her as she opened the door in her pajamas with a robe over.

"You're up early!" she smiled at him.

"Did I wake you?" he asked suddenly a bit concerned.

"No. I've been up for a while", she said and let him in.

"Where's Elias?" he asked not seeing or hearing the boy.

"Still sleeping", Scully said in a somewhat suggestive tone.

"Oh…" Mulder played along. "When do you think he'll be up?"

"I dunno", she told him and took a step closer towards him and looked into his eyes with her beautiful blue ones.

Mulder closed the distance between them. In the same second their lips touched Elias walked into the room.

"What are you doing?" he asked wondering.

Mulder and Scully both took a step back like were they two teenagers getting caught by their parents.

"I just kissed Scully", Mulder said, not wanting to lie to the boy.

"Why?" he asked tilting his head.

"Sometimes friends kiss each other. Just like when they hug. It's just to tell them, that they love them… as friends", Mulder tried to explain to Elias, even though it wasn't the whole truth.

"Oh, okay", the boy said, and took Mulder's word for the truth.

"Let's get some breakfast; we have a big day ahead of us! Have you eaten, Mulder?" Scully said changing the subject before Elias came up with another great question.

"No", Mulder said sending her a flirtatious look she nearly blushed from.

"Busy morning, huh?" Scully said.

"Yep, couldn't wait to see you", he said and picked up Elias, explaining he meant both of them.

"Scully said I could have her old desk!" Elias happily announced as he hang onto Mulder.

"That was sweet of her. You're gonna need it soon, when you start in school", Mulder answered him.

"Yep. She said you would help me decorate my room", Elias told Mulder.

"She did? I guess I could do that", Mulder said as he gave Scully another one of his looks.

"When is by bed coming?" Elias asked Scully as she was setting the table for the three of them.

"In an hour or so. Then when we're done moving the furniture in, you're gonna meet my mother", Scully told him.

"Where does she live?" he asked interested.

"Not far away", she told him. "Let's eat now!"

* * *

Soon they were done moving around in the room, that was now Elias'. There was his new bed and a night stand at the one end of the room, and Scully's old desk and a closet by the opposite wall. The walls where a white color nearing beige, but Scully thought they might paint it someday. Elias was really excited about the room and gave Scully a big hug when it was done. Now they were on the way out the door to Maggie's.

"Are you sure, you want me there?" Mulder asked not wanting to intrude.

"Of course we do, Mulder. Come on, I'll let you drive the car", she offered with a twinkle in her eye.

Elias was getting impatient in the backseat after having driven five minutes. He kept asking when they were there. Mulder laughed at this, and was able to see why Scully found himself annoying sometimes, when he was impatient.

"Didn't you bring the CD, as I told you?" Mulder asked grinning.

"Oh yeah!" Elias remembered and gave the Elvis-CD to Scully.

As it began to play in the car he seemed to calm down. Scully was getting more and more nervous as they neared their destination. Was her mother gonna approve of her adopting? Was she gonna think Scully was weird for getting connected with the boy in less than a day? Of course, she knew her mother was going to be thrilled to have another grandchild, but these questions still seemed to find their way into her head.

"Are you okay, Scully?" Mulder asked sensing her feelings.

"I'm fine, Mulder", she answered.

"Don't worry, Scully. She's gonna love him!" he said as if he had read her mind.

"I know", Scully said knowing Mulder knew what she was thinking just like she knew what he was thinking. "I don't know why I'm nervous!" she told him honest.

"You just want her to like him, that's all. That's perfectly natural to be nervous over, Scully", he told her and gave her his best smile.

"Thanks", she said, glad he had agreed to come along. He always knew just what to say to make it all better.

* * *

"Dana! Fox!" Maggie Scully greeted her daughter and kind-of-son with hugs as she opened her front door to them.

"And who's this little guy?" she asked eyeing Elias and sending him a sweet, very grandma-like smile.

"This is Elias, mom", Scully said running a hand through his already messy dark brown hair. "He's going to live with me from now on."

This took Maggie by surprise, but she never let this show. All she did was to look at the little boy as he had just made her day a lot better, which he actually had.

"Hello, Elias. I'm Maggie", she said and extended her hand for him to shake.

"Hello", he said a bit shy and shook her hand.

"Well, come on inside. It's freezing", Maggie rushed them inside.

They spend most of the day playing board games and eating all of Maggie's delicious homemade dishes and snacks. Elias sat next to his new grandma by the table. He liked her already. This left Mulder and Scully sitting next to each other. They were pretty okay with this, since it made it easy for them to hold hands while it wasn't their turn. Feeling brave Mulder placed a hand on Scully's thigh. She didn't remove it.

"So how did your New Year's Eve go?" Maggie asked them.

"Great", Scully said, while she and Mulder tried to suppress their huge smiles.

"What did you do?" she asked them.

"What do you mean?" Scully asked wondering if she knew anything, Mulder's paranoia must have been infectious.

"Just, what you did and where you went for the night?" she explained not quite understanding what was not to understand.

"Oh!" Scully said embarrassed. "Actually we were working, and Mulder ended up hurting his arm."

"That doesn't sound great!" Maggie worried and looked skeptically at Mulder's arm. "Are you feeling okay, Fox?"

"I'm fine now. And it was great, because we met this great kid", Mulder said and nodded towards Elias who looked very happy to be the cause for their happy New Year.

"If Scully is my new mom, and you're her mom", Elias wondered. "Does that make you my grandma?"

"Yes it does", Maggie said happy.

"I've never had a grandma before. Can I call you grandma?" he asked with his cute puppy dog eyes, fearing a rejection once again.

"Of course, you can, Elias", she smiled wide at him.

"Marvin, it's your turn now", Elias said to Mulder gaining a not understanding look from Maggie. Neither Mulder nor Elias seemed to notice the woman's lack of insight though.

"It's a name he has given Mulder. He calls him Marvin, and Mulder calls him Elvis", Scully explained to her mom as Mulder made his move.

"Oh!" she laughed and shook her head at the funny little kid, she was proud to call her grandson. "Well, I better go get started on dinner."

"Can I help you, it's fun to cook?" Elias asked her.

"Yeah, sure", Maggie said and he followed her into the kitchen.

"Do you need our help too, mom?" Scully asked.

"No, that's okay. I think Elias and I can manage", she answered and the two of them began cooking.

Mulder and Scully was alone now, she took his hand and led him to the couch.

"Your mother seems to like him a lot, huh?" Mulder said as they sat like that in the couch, right next to each other, holding hands.

"Mmmh", Scully answered. "So what do you want to do while they make dinner?"

"What do you want to do?" he asked knowingly shifting in his seat in order to have better access to her lips.

Scully checked to see they were alone in the room. When she looked back at Mulder his lips crashed onto hers. Their tongues met in a fiery explosion. It felt good to be this close. After years of suppressing how they felt towards one another, they finally got some sort of release. Mulder couldn't help thinking: 'If kissing her is like heaven, what would sleeping with her feel like?' She broke the kiss. She didn't want to, but she couldn't risk getting caught by Elias again. She knew it had been confusing for him. Neither did she want her mother to walk in on them. Mulder knew all this from simply looking into her eyes. They had a small conversation using only their eyes. An ability they had developed rather fast in their partnership.

* * *

"Dinner was great, mom and Elias", Scully said to them, receiving a proud expression from her son.

"The best meal I've had in years", Mulder told them.

"Well, you're welcome. It's not every day I get to cook for other people. And having such a talented young man to help me, didn't hurt either", Maggie said and winked at Elias.

"We should probably begin to head back home", Scully told her mom.

"Elias and I listened to the radio before when we were cooking and they said the road is closed until tomorrow because of an accident", Maggie informed them.

"Was it a bad accident?" Scully asked worried.

"No people were hurt, thank God, but a big truck slid on the icy road and is blocking the road", she informed them in a matter-of-factly voice. "You can stay here for the night!" she told them exited.

"Yay! A sleep over", Elias exclaimed.

"There's room enough. Elias could stay in Charlie's old room, Mulder in Bill's and you in yours", Maggie told Scully. "Besides, Dana. You don't have work until the day after tomorrow."

"It's fine with me", Scully said. "Is it okay with you, Mulder?" she asked worried he didn't want to sleep in her mother's house, and in Bill's old bedroom nonetheless.

"Yeah! It'll be fun", he agreed.

* * *

"Goodnight, Scully", Elias said warmheartedly from Charlie's old bed. "Goodnight, Marvin."

Scully sat on his bed and leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"See you tomorrow", she said in a whisper.

Mulder ran a hand through Elias' hair.

"Sleep tide, little guy. And don't let them bed bugs bide you now!" he said and received an eye roll from Scully.

They went down to the living room again and said goodnight to Maggie. As they did she asked about Elias, and what exactly had happened. They explained it to her, his whole story, and she almost wept. He really did mean a lot to the old woman already. Maggie went to bed not long after Mulder and Scully. As she did she walked into Scully's room.

"Are you sleeping, Dana?" she whispered from the door.

"Mom? No, why?" she asked.

Her mother sat down on her bed like she had used to do when Scully was just a kid.

"I just wanted to let you know, that whenever you need help with Elias, and you will, trust me, just give me a call. I'll be happy to babysit whenever you need me. Even if you just need some time to yourself, that's okay, I would love to…" Maggie said but got interrupted by Scully.

"Of course, mom. I know you will. I'll come visit you more now too, I promise. I want Elias to get to know you better. He likes you so much already!" she stated.

"Really? Thanks!" she said happy. "Goodnight, Dana."

"'Night, mom."

As soon as Mulder heard Maggie Scully go into her own bedroom he waited for around fifteen minutes. Then he tiptoed into the hallway and found Scully's room. He snuck into her bed.

"Mulder?" Scully whispered surprised.

"I missed you", he simply said.

To be honest, she had expected this since she knew they were gonna spend the night under the same roof. Truth is, if he hadn't snuck into her, she probably would have snuck into him.

He was lying on his back with his arm around Scully, who rested her head and arm on his muscular chest. She liked listening to his strong heartbeat. The feeling of him against her and her against him. Just being safe in his arms. The way she seemed to fit perfect against him.

Just as she was on the edge of sleep she heard a whisper coming from the man she was sleeping on.

"I love you", he said and with that she fell asleep.


	4. Believing

_Author's note:  
Sorry for the long wait on this. I've been at a standstill, but now I have a great idea as to were this story is going. Please tell me if you like this chapter. _

* * *

Chapter 4 – Believing

Unwillingly Mulder freed himself from Scully's embrace. It was only 5, but he couldn't risk getting caught by someone.

"Where you going?" Scully asked from a sleepy state.

"It's morning, Scully. I'm going back to my bed before your mom's awake", he whispered back to her.

As he was about to leave the room, Scully said:

"Mulder?" as if she suddenly remembered something.

"Yeah?" he asked, popping his head back into the room.

"I love you too", she said and smiled at him.

He smiled back. His whole body was tickling. She had heard him, and she felt the same way. This, if possible, made him love her even more. Then he went back to his own room. Or Bill's room. He was glad he hadn't had to sleep in there. Just imagining that Bill had lived in that room made him uncomfortable. He wasn't scared of him. Not like he was scared of fire. But he was always afraid of saying and doing the wrong thing. He was afraid he might break the bed, just by sleeping in it. Maybe it was because Scully didn't have a father. This made her older brother the one, who's accept he needed.

When he had heard Maggie get up and move downstairs, he waited for Scully to do the same thing. He didn't want to be alone with Maggie. He liked her, but it would feel weird and awkward after having slept next to her daughter. As more than friends. He heard Elias make his way from Charlie's old room and to Scully's. It made him feel good inside that he went into her room to say good morning. Like a proud father. He got up and was about to walk in and join them, but the conversation they were having made him stop.

"But do you like him?" Elias asked.

"Of course I like him, he's my best friend", Scully explained.

"Why can't you just marry him and he could be my new dad?" Elias asked.

"It's not that simple, Elias", Scully tried to explain. "Even if I would like to marry him, I don't think Mulder is the type of guy who wants to marry anyone. If you marry someone you're saying they're the most important thing in the world. But Mulder has his job. That's what's important to him. You see, once something bad happened to Mulder, and since then he has been determined to find answers. He needs to know the truth, more than anything, and he can't settle down before."

"Maybe he thinks you're more important! Maybe he loves you!" Elias said.

"I know he loves me, but…" Scully just realized what Mulder had said to her last night. He had said that he loved her. She thought he had meant he was in love with her, but maybe it had meant more than just that alone. Was it a way of telling her his priorities had changed? Those simple three words, which had seemed so simple, now seemed very complicated.

"Let's not talk about this, Elias. You just need to understand, that Mulder and I love each other as friends and if you want him to be your father you can just ask him if he wants to be. We don't need to be married."

"Do you think he'll say yes?" the boy wondered.

"There's only one way to find out", Scully said, but deep down she knew Mulder was already having fatherly feelings towards Elias.

"Good morning", Mulder said as he entered the room. He had heard their conversation.

"Hi!" Elias said and gave him a great big hug. Mulder held him tight, hoping the boy would ask him soon. Hoping he would have the chance of being a dad, but most of all, hoping he wouldn't fail and let the boy down.

"Run down to your grandma, Elvis! I need to talk to Scully!" Mulder smiled at the boy.

"Okay", he said and ran down the stairs.

"You heard our conversation?" Scully asked from her bed where she was sitting.

"Mmh", Mulder confirmed.

"I didn't know what to tell him Mulder! All his questions made me wonder, though."

"About what?" Mulder asked.

"About what you said last night. What you meant. If it was just a declaration of your love, or if it was more than that", she told him not looking at him.

"I do love you, Scully. And I'm madly in love with you. I can't live without you. You come before everything else now. You have done so for many years. I've just never realized it before. I've found the truth I was looking for. It was not what I had hoped. My sister is dead. I know there are still a lot I haven't solved… that we haven't solved about some things, and I know it might seem as if I put them before you, but I don't", he promised taking her hand as he spoke.

"Are you sure, Mulder?" she asked as she couldn't help wondering. She had been use to being second to his truth for so long. "Because as much as I appreciate it, I appreciate you telling me the truth even more."

"You are my number one, Scully. My touchstone, my constant. When everything else never is what it seems, I have you. You're always there for me. Now, I wanna do the same for you. I'll put you first as you have me", he said and looked into her eyes with his beautiful green ones.

She pulled him into a hug, as her eyes filled with tears. Tears of joy.

"I believe you", she told him.

* * *

When the weekend was over Mulder and Scully started working again and Elias began kindergarten again. Mulder came to pick them up in the morning; they drove Elias to kindergarten, drove to work so they were there around 8.30, worked all day, and then picked Elias up from kindergarten again 5 o'clock. At work they kept their distance to each other. It was hard sitting in the basement all day all alone, not able to be nearer the one you loved when they were sitting right in front of you. Especially since they hadn't really had anything to do in a long time at work. They had finished the Millennium-case, but after that there hadn't even been casted a paranormal shadow into their office. They helped some of the other agents. Mulder with some profiling and Scully with her medical and scientific view and opinion.

Most of all they just looked forward to the time the working day ended and they could get home. Home to Elias. He was the most amazing kid ever. He only ever argued about his bed times. He never wanted to go to bed. He wanted to be up with Mulder and Scully. But eventually they would get him tucked in, and then had some much needed alone time. It was harder being a parent that Scully had imagined. Even with an amazing kid like Elias. Just the worry that came with the job. She knew Mulder and Elias had a father-son relationship, but Elias hadn't officially asked Mulder yet. He had told her he wanted to though.

Mulder and Scully hadn't done much else than a whole lot of kissing the past month. They spent every day together. Even the weekends when they went to Maggie's for dinner. But when it started to get late Scully would tell him to leave. Whenever things between them got passionate she told him it was late. It was pure torture for him and Scully was enjoying torturing him. February 5'th was a regular Tuesday night. They had got Elias to go to sleep finally and were watching some Stephen King movie. They sat in the middle of the couch. Mulder had an arm around Scully and she rested her head in the crook of his arm with her feet tucked up under her.

"This is a weird movie, Mulder!" Scully stated midway through the movie.

"It really is", he agreed. "I like it", he then said and made Scully laugh.

"Of course you do, weirdo", she grinned.

"I'm not a weirdo", he said in a protective voice.

"You're the definition of a weirdo, Mulder! If you look the word up in a dictionary, a photo of you will be there", she teased him.

"Oh really? You know where in that dictionary your photo would be", he said sounding flirtatious.

She took her eyes off the screen and looked directly into his eyes. "Where?" she asked with a cute smile on her face.

"Hobbit", he said and began to laugh.

"Hey!" she exclaimed and hit him on his chest. "I'm not that short, Mulder, you're just that tall. And I don't have big hairy feet!" she protested.

"I bet you do. As soon as those stockings come off, you're feet swell and take their real form", he said and laughed even harder.

"They do not!" she said. "Try it!" she told him.

"What?" he asked suddenly not laughing anymore.

"Take my stockings off", she said and gave him her most sexy look.

She sat sideways in the couch and placed her right foot in his lap. Mulder was very quiet.

"What's the matter, Mulder? Cat got your tongue?" she said in a low but audible tone.

"No" he managed to let out. He rearranged himself in the couch so he was facing her. Then he looked her in the eyes while he slowly ran his hand up her leg over her knee and up her thigh. She could feel it tickle and burn where his hand ran. He got to the top of her hold-ups and pulled it down her leg in a slow sexual way.

"Told you!" she whispered as he had got it off. "Wanna check the other one too?" she asked raising her eyebrows in a manner that almost made him moan. Not trusting himself to open his mouth he just nodded and did the same thing to her other stocking.

Then he ran his hand back up her now naked leg. Her skin was soft. Then he rested her hand on top of her thigh and his lips connected with hers. They moaned into each other's mouths. Her hands found their way to his shirt and slowly began to undo the buttons from the top. Realizing what she was doing he cut the kiss off.

"It's getting late, Scully. Sure, it's not time for me to go?" he asked her smiling.

"Forget it, Mulder. I'm not letting you go tonight!" she said as she continued working on his shirt.

He kissed her on the mouth and then moved down to her jar and her neck. He found a spot that made her shoot her head backwards to gain him better access. He kept on kissing her there and sucking on that exact spot. Even though they were almost fully dressed Mulder had never been this close to someone. Neither had Scully. They kept kissing like this and roaming each other's bodies with their curious hands.

"Let's take this somewhere else, Scully", Mulder finally said, not being able to keep all of him in his pants anymore.

"You're in charge", she whispered softly in his ear.

He lifted her up by her thighs and hardly broke their kiss in the way to the bed room. He lied her down on the bed gently but hastily. Then he walked over to lock the door. Just in case Elias had a bad dream and decided to walk in or something. He walked back to the bed and placed himself between her thighs. Soon clothes were thrown to the floor and their breaths began to speed up. They made love that night for the first time. They said appreciative words to each other, held eye contact the whole time and finally cried out the other's name as they reached their climax together.

"Scully!" he panted afterwards. "We should have done that years ago."

"Then it wouldn't have been the same, Mulder. This was perfect. I'll never wanna change that", she said short of breath.

"Yeah…" he agreed. "And now I know what definition you're under in that dictionary!"

"You do?" she asked.

"Sexgoddess!" he said and looked her in the eyes.

"That's sweet", she told him and cupped his cheek.

"You did like it too, right?" he asked her suddenly afraid he might have heard her or just not been enough for her.

"Oh yeah, Mulder. The best ever!" she told him and kissed him on the mouth.

"Really?" he asked feeling proud.

"Mhm", she said as she made herself comfortable resting her arm and head on his chest.

Not soon after they fell asleep. Feeling her against him still naked almost made him think of maybe getting a 2'nd, but before he could even take the initiative he had fallen asleep. Truly worn out for the first time in his life.

* * *

"Scully? Scully! SCULLY?!" was what they woke up to the next morning. Mulder looked at Scully's alarm clock. It read 6.08. Elias was awake and wondered why his mom had locked her door.

"It's okay, Elias. I'll be right out", she told him and got up and pulled her panties from the night before on, and then pulled an oversize t-shirt over her head.

"Don't get dressed that fast, Scully, I was enjoying the view", Mulder smiled at her from the bed.

"Maybe I'll flash for you later", she smiled back at him.

"That would make work a lot more interesting", he said and raised his eyebrows.

"Get up, Mulder. You need to get dressed and ready to go", she told him.

"Is Marvin here?" they heard Elias ask excited through the door.

"Yes he is", Scully answered him.

Now Mulder got up from the bed and put on his shirt and dress pants.

"What should we tell him, Scully?" Mulder asked her as they were about to leave the bed room.

"I think we should tell him something. I just don't know what", she said.

"We'll figure something out, okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, okay", she said and they went out the door where Elias was waiting.

"Good morning!" Mulder said and squatted so Elias could run into his arms.

"Hi", he said and hugged onto Mulder. "You had a sleep over?" he asked innocent.

"Yeah… we did. Actually there's something your mom and I would like to talk to you about", Mulder told him.

Then he rose from the floor, still holding Elias, and walked into the kitchen where he seated him by the table.

"You know how Mulder and I are friends, right, Elias?" Scully asked.

"Yup. You're best friends", he said. He seemed a bit worried about what they had to say. Had he done something wrong?

"Lately we've been… falling in love with each other", Mulder said honest.

"Are you gonna get married?" Elias asked now suddenly in high spirits.

"No!" Scully answered fast.

"But now Scully's my girlfriend", Mulder giggled and wiggled an eyebrow while he put an arm around her waist.

"Eww... You're not gonna kiss all the time, are you? 'Cause that's disgusting", he exclaimed and made a face as if he was sick.

This made Mulder and Scully laugh. "Actually, that does mean we're gonna kiss a lot more", he told Elias and smiled down at Scully and give her a quick peck on the mouth.

"Gross!" Elias exclaimed.

"Alright, Elias! So what do you want for breakfast this morning? Yogurt or cereal?" Scully asked.

"Cereal", he said and looked at her with a cute little smile. His eyes sparkled with a new glimpse. And Scully knew he was happy that his new mom and dad had finally told him the truth he already knew.

"I'm gonna take a shower. You should get something to eat as well, Mulder", Scully told them as she moved towards the bathroom.

Mulder looked after her as she left the room. Lost in another dimension. Elias looked at him weird not getting this weird grown-up behavior.

"Do you think Scully is pretty?" Elias asked.

Mulder came out of his little blackout, and focused on the boy. "Yeah, of course I do. Why?"

"Is that why you fell in love with her?" he asked, another one of his great questions, making Mulder's mind wonder.

"No. I fell in love with her because she's… Scully. One of a kind. She is smart. She raises her eyebrows at me, when she thinks I'm a complete weirdo, and she is the best friend I've ever had."

"Do you like kissing?" he then asked.

"Yeah. I like kissing Scully, that's for sure", he told the boy while he took another spoonful of cereal.

"Does Scully like it too?" he wondered through a mouthful of not chewed food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full of food", Mulder laughed at him. "And yes, Scully likes it very much."

"How do you know?" he kept going.

"She told me", Mulder answered.

Elias said deep in thought as he ate the rest of his breakfast. Mulder ate a bowl of cereal himself. When the boys were about to have a second bowl, Scully walked into the room again. Her hair was wet and she was only wearing a towel. If Elias hadn't been in the room, Mulder would have probably done something about that 2'nd he had wanted last night.

"Time is running. You better eat fast if you're going to have a shower too, Mulder", Scully told him while Mulder tried to keep his eyes off of her legs, which was showing with the little towel.

"I'm gonna shower at the office. I got an extra pair of clothes there too", he told her.

"Oh, okay", she said and took out some stuff from the fridge in order to make Elias' lunch.

"Why are you staring?" Elias asked not getting the sudden interest in his mom.

This caught Scully's attention, and she saw Mulder's gaze fly up from her legs to her eyes. Then he started to slightly blush. She had never seen him blush before. He looked cute, she thought.

"Mulder thinks I'm pretty to look at", Scully told Elias.

"You told me not to look at girls without much clothes on. Then why is it okay when he does it?" Elias asked, referring to an episode in the mal where some young girls ran around in practical nothing even though it was January. Scully had told him it wasn't proper to look at girls when they didn't have clothing on, when Elias' eyes had followed one of the young girls, which boob was about to fall right out of her t-shirt.

"She's my girlfriend. That also means I get to look at her whenever I want", Mulder tried to explain.

"Even when she hasn't got any clothes on?" Elias asked now very interested.

"Yep", Mulder answered, and even though Scully knew where this was leading she couldn't stop Elias from asking his next question.

"Have you seen each other naked?" he asked and nearly jumped up from his chair in astonishment.

"Well… ehm… no-yes, I mean, we…" Mulder started to talk nonsense.

"That's nothing you should be concerned with yet, young man", Scully told him. "Go get out of your pajamas, Elias. I've put some clothes out for you on your bed", she told him.

"Thanks", Mulder mouthed at her as she saved him.

* * *

"It's another dead end. This is not an x-file. We haven't had one single x-file since last year", Mulder complained in their small office.

"It's only February, Mulder. It's been a month, relax!" she told him from across the desk while she read over the file, not finding anything that couldn't be explained.

"At least I have you to look at, while I wait for something to do", he smiled at her.

"Mulder!" she exclaimed. "That's inappropriate. We're at work", she reminded him.

"But we got nothing to do right now. Maybe we could…" before he had a chance to finish that sentence AD Skinner walked through their door.

"Agents", he greeted them. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked them out of pure well-manners.

"No, sir", Mulder replied as both him and Scully stood up from each side of the desk. "What do we owe the honor?"

"I've gotten hold of some information that could have a deep impact on your lives."

* * *

_I know this is a bad way to end a chapter. But hope the cliffhanger will give ya'll something to think about. Reviews?_


	5. Is this goodbye?

_Author's note:  
A little drama now. Hope you guys will still like this story. Thanks so much for all the great reviews, and thanks to all that are reading this story._

* * *

Chapter 5 – Is this goodbye?

"_I've gotten hold of some information that could have a deep impact on your lives."_

Scully felt her stomach turn to ice with Skinner's words. Her breathing stopped and she had no option but to let Mulder answer.

"What is it, sir?" Mulder asked not able to hide his worry.

"The boy that agent Scully wants to adopt apparently has an uncle. It was the boy's father's brother. It seems this uncle has just found out about his brother's death and now wishes for custody over the boy", Skinner told them not looking directly into their eyes.

"Can he do that?" was all that popped into Mulder's mind.

"Since he's a biological relative the case probably won't be easily dismissed. But since he has never met the boy, and since Scully has already been a mother for the child during this past month, I've been told she stands a strong case", Skinner told them, as he now looked at Scully.

"Where do you have this information from?" Mulder asked, since Skinner didn't usually just stumble across information like this.

"I have a lawyer friend. She told me about the case, and how she had turned the uncle down when he had asked her to be his lawyer. She's not like most lawyers, she actually_ has_ a conscience, and only takes on cases she believes in. She would like to be your lawyer, Scully", he told them.

"Did she say anything about why the uncle would want to adopt Elias?" Mulder asked clearly annoyed.

"He didn't share this with her since she turned down his job proposition. But her guess is that him and his wife can't have children, since they're in their forties and don't have anyone, and therefore sees this as an option to finally have one", Skinner said.

Scully hadn't said anything since Skinner had walked into their office. It wasn't that she couldn't believe it. She just blamed herself for not seeing this coming. Of course, she wasn't meant to be this happy. For once, she was actually content with her life and it hadn't even occurred to her, that something could change this. Now she was absolutely sure she was gonna lose Elias. She couldn't help but think this way. After never being really happy and then suddenly be it, it felt natural that this happiness wouldn't last.

"So, what do you say, Scully?" Skinner asked – Scully however hadn't heard a single word he had said since she had been lost in her own thoughts.

"About what, sir?" she asked.

"Should I set up a meeting with you and the lawyer I told you about?" he said looking a little worried.

"Oh! Yeah, of course, sir. That would be great", she answered him.

"Alright. I'll give her your number and she'll contact you?" he said.

"Okay", Scully said but seemed far from being okay herself.

With that Skinner exited their office. Mulder walked over to Scully and took her hands. He tried to look her in the eyes to see how she was feeling, but she had her gaze locked down on her shoes.

"I should have known", she almost whispered.

"Known what, Scully?" he asked, since she didn't make sense to him.

"That this was too good to last. With both you and Elias my life seemed meaningful – I felt happy. And now I'll lose it all", she said with a lump in her throat.

Mulder couldn't believe what he was hearing. He felt bad for her. But he was glad she had shared this with him. "It's gonna work out, Scully. You'll have a trial where the judge decides what's best for Elias. I know he will think it's you. You _are_ the best for him. You're already become a mother for him", he told her.

Scully felt a little better. She still wasn't at all sure she was going to keep Elias. But she felt hope rise in her.

"Maybe he is better off without me, Mulder. His uncle and aunt are probably more suited parents than me", she wondered out loud.

"They can't be, Scully. Elias loves you. That's a love you've earned. He didn't have to love you, but he do. And being taken away from someone you love and be placed with strangers can't be the best for anyone", he reasoned with her.

"Thanks, Mulder", she said and let a slight smile dress her lips as she finally made eye contact with him.

"Just telling the truth", he smiled back.

Scully now felt this wasn't a lost case after all. She knew Elias belonged with her. And with Mulder. It was meant to be the three of them.

"You always are", she said and put her arms around his waist in a tight hug which he warmly returned by resting his head on top of hers while pulling her close to him.

"We're gonna get through this, Scully", he tried to convince her.

"I hope so", she answered.

They stood and hugged each other for a little while longer before Scully let go. She looked him deep in his eyes and smiled at him with all her love for him revealed in those deep blue oceans, which were her eyes.

"What did I do to deserve you?" she asked him.

"I think it's me who needs to ask that question, Scully. I'm the lucky one. You could do a lot better than me", he said in a low and honest voice.

"You _are_ the best for _me_, Mulder! No one could ever live up to you. I could never love anyone else as I love you", she told him never breaking their eye contact.

"The same goes for me, Scully. I love you more than you'll ever understand, more than I'll even understand myself", he said and took hold of her hands again.

"Kiss me, Mulder", she whispered to him.

And so he did. A slow and gentle, yet passionate kiss. Suddenly the phone in their office rang, making them both jump a little. Mulder walked over to answer it as he gave Scully an apologetic look.

"Mulder", he answered sort of annoyed.

"Are you sure?" he asked a little while after.

"She'll be there right away, miss", he then said making Scully look questioning up at him.

"Who was it? Where will I be right away?" Scully asked as Mulder had hung up.

"It was Elias' kindergarten. They said he had been in a fight", Mulder said clearly doubting his own words.

"What?" Scully asked as she doubted it very much herself.

"My thoughts exactly!" Mulder pointed out as he moved to put his jacket on.

"I'll call Skinner and tell him we're leaving early", Mulder told her as they left the office in a hurry. "We don't have anything to do here anyway."

* * *

"What were you thinking, Elias? You can't just hit the other kids!" Scully said, for the first time raising her voice at her son.

Elias hadn't given her and Mulder any explanation. The boy he had hit hadn't annoyed him or begun the fight. He said he just felt like it. They knew there was something Elias wasn't telling them. Since they had left the kindergarten Elias hadn't spoke. He had just looked ashamed and guilty for lying towards Mulder and Scully.

"This isn't like you, Elias", Mulder said trying to make him tell them the truth as he squatted down to him in Scully's living room.

"You know you can't just hit people because you feel like it", he told him in a serious voice.

"I know", Elias confirmed.

"Then why did you hit him, Elias? I know you must have had some reason", Mulder said using his real name to imply the seriousness of his actions.

The little boy looked split between doing what he knew he wanted to and keeping a promise he had made.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" he asked them.

Mulder and Scully nodded. "Just tell the truth, Elias", Scully said in a calm and begging voice.

"It… it wasn't really me who hit him", Elias said as he looked down to his feet.

"Then why did you tell Miss Sanders that it was?" Scully questioned.

"It was my friend Bryan who did it. If his dad finds out he has got into trouble with Bobby again he is going to spank him", he said honestly.

"Why doesn't Bryan like Bobby?" Mulder asked him.

"Bryan's mom and dad are divorced, and Bryan's dad has married Bobby's mom, and now Bobby is always mean to Bryan and says bad things about Bryan's mom", he told them in the saddest voice possible.

"So you were just protecting your friend, huh?" Scully asked.

Elias nodded.

"Why didn't you tell the grown-ups that Bobby was being mean?" she then questioned.

"I already told them yesterday. I found Bryan crying and I told Miss Jones but Bobby just kept on going and finally Bryan had enough", Elias explained to them.

"I'm glad you didn't hit anyone, Elias. But I don't think you should lie to the grown-ups in the kindergarten. Not even if you think it's the right thing to do", Scully told him.

"I know it was wrong", Elias said. "And I promise I won't do it again, just don't tell Bryan's dad. Bryan thinks his dad likes Bobby better than him!"

"I'm sure Bryan's dad likes him just as much as his stepbrother. If Bryan just told his dad that Bobby had been mean, he would probably have a talk with Bobby", Scully said.

"You think? Maybe I should tell that to Bryan", Elias said sounding better, because his friend had a chance of fixing his problem.

"I think you should do that", Scully told him and gave him a hug.

"I love you, mom", Elias whispered to her.

Scully's eyes filled with tears. It was the first time he had actually told her he loved her. And he had called her mom. Scully's heart felt warm. So did Mulder's. Scully was such a great mom. He wished this moment would last forever. He wished that his love for them would be this strong always. And most of all, he wished that Scully and Elias wouldn't be separated. He would do anything to keep that from happening. Even if he had to leave the x-files, he would do it, and he would never look back and regret it. He would do anything for his love and his son.

"I don't wanna cook tonight. What do you say we order some pizza, guys?" Scully asked smiling.

Mulder and Elias quickly agreed on this and an hour later they were sitting in the couch enjoying their pizzas. When Elias went to the bathroom Mulder turned to Scully.

"Scully. I want you to know that I will do whatever I can, in order to keep you together", he said seriously and honest while looking deep into her beautiful blue eyes with his green ones.

"Thanks, Mulder", she said smiling while she put her slice of pizza down. "I know you will. You're always fighting my battles with me. You never give up, even if I have", she told him while resting her hand on his thigh.

"When Elias called you 'mom', I just knew I couldn't let anything separate you. He loves you so much, Scully", he said cupping her cheek.

"He loves you just as much, Mulder", she informed him.

"You really think so?" he asked sounding proud and surprised.

"I know so", she told him and closed the distance between them.

Their kiss was sweet and filled with love. His tongue begged for entrance, which she granted. They were so intoxicated by the kiss they didn't even notice when Elias reentered the room and stood looking at them with a grossed out expression on his face.

"That's too gross!" he exclaimed while making a sound as if he was throwing up.

Mulder and Scully finally stopped their actions and looked at him. "Elias!" Scully said blushing.

"I'm sorry, E", Mulder began. "Your mom is just such a good kisser!" he then said and laughed a bit to himself.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Elias told them as he ran over to Mulder and jumped onto his lap.

"Can't you at least wait till I'm asleep?" he asked sounding impatient with Mulder.

"Nope", Mulder told him and laughed again.

Elias sighed. This meant he had given up on Mulder. He then shook his head as if to shake this whole thing out of his mind and then he began a new conversation.

"There's a girl from my kindergarten named Zoe, and she told me her father was an FBI agent too!" he told them.

"Really?" Scully said. "Do you know what her last name is?"

"Ehh… Roberts", he said remembering.

"Oh!" Scully said.

Both she and Mulder knew agent Roberts. He was a real ass. He always went around spreading rumors about the weird alien-hunting agents from the basement. And every single either suggested that Mulder was a total loony, or that they only pretended chasing mutants and what not in order to make the bureau pay for their motel bills whenever they wanted to get away and do each other for days. Of course they couldn't tell this to Elias.

"We know him", Scully simply said.

"Zoe told me, that she had been with her dad to work once. Do you think I could do that too?" he asked now getting to the whole point of this conversation.

"Maybe", Mulder told him. "But it would have to be a day we don't have to work. Maybe we could take you Saturday."

"Really?" he said sounding truly exited.

"Yeah", Scully answered. "We can show you around the entire building, and even a place most of the agents working there never get to see!"

"Where?" he asked really interested.

"The basement!" she told him and smiled to Mulder who smiled back.

"The basement?" Elias asked sounding bewildered. "What's in the basement?"

"Our office", Scully told him.

"Ohhh", Elias said looking lost in his own thoughts.

"It's getting late now, champ! Time to brush your teeth and go to bed", Mulder told him as he got up from the couch with Elias in his arms.

"Can't I stay up a little longer?" he asked in his most innocent and sweetest of voices.

"If you're a really good boy and brush your teeth and get into your pajamas now, you can sit and watch some TV with us before you have to go to bed", Mulder agreed.

"Yeah!" Elias yelled and ran to the bathroom.

Mulder went with him to make sure he brushed his teeth alright. Scully smiled at them and began to clean up. She gathered the leftovers and put them in the fridge. She wondered if Mulder would stay the night again. She wanted him to. She smiled at the thought of last night. It had been truly amazing. Before Skinner had dropped that bomb at the office she had had a hard time trying not to think about it. Him on top of her, underneath her, inside of her, all over her. It was gonna be hard working together from now on. But she knew when they were given a real case, a real x-file, they wouldn't have any trouble. They were going to disagree and state their opinion as always. They were going to be good old arguing Mulder and Scully again. She wondered if they would still sleep in each their motel room. It would probably be best if they did so. As long as they were working they had to maintain their cool exterior and not let their emotions show.

Mulder and Elias returned to her as she was standing in the kitchen deep in thought.

"Are you okay?" Mulder asked.

"Oh!" she said surprised she wasn't alone anymore. "Yeah. I was just thinking…"

"'Bout what?" he asked playingly as he locked his arms around her waist.

"Oh, nothing special", she told him but gave him a look that made it pretty clear that she was thinking about something dirty involving him.

"Sounds interesting", he almost whispered.

"Mmh", she agreed.

"You promised we could watch TV together!" Elias complained from the couch. "Stop kissing, already!"

"We weren't kissing!" Mulder disagreed as he sat down on the couch next to Elias.

"You were about to!" Elias said.

"You can't know that for sure", Mulder kept arguing.

"Sure I can. You get that weird look in your eyes!" he told them.

"Really?" Mulder asked.

"Yup. Can we watch a movie?" he then asked.

"It's too late for that, young man!" Scully said as she said down on the other side of the little boy. "We can watch some cartoons."

"Okay", Elias reluctantly agreed and Mulder found some cartoons.

They laughed and talked while watching. Elias lay with his head in Mulder's lap and soon he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.

"He's sleeping", Mulder whispered to Scully.

"I can carry him to bed", Scully said and got up.

"No, that's okay", Mulder told her. "I'll do it", he said sounding almost proud.

Scully couldn't help smiling when she saw Mulder carry the sleeping Elias to bed. It was so sweet and fatherly of him. When Mulder had placed him in his bed and pulled the covers up around him he ran a hand through his hair and kissed his forehead. Then he joined Scully in the door to the room.

"He looks like an angel when he sleeps", she told Mulder.

"He is an angel", Mulder said while he put an arm around her waist and kissed her in the hair.

They looked around his room. On his wall above his bed hang a big poster with Marvin the Martian. Mulder had given Elias his fish tank. Mulder was at their place most of the time and didn't want the fish to die, and Elias had been really happy about it. In the ceiling hang a lamp shaped like an UFO. Another thing from Mulder. On the desk were papers and crayons. He liked to draw. Above the desk hang many of his drawings. There was one of Elvis, one of fish, houses, and one of himself with Mulder and Scully. On this drawing Elias was standing in the middle holding their hands. It was Scully's favorite. Then Scully shut the lights off in the room, leaving the ones in the fish tank on.

"So…" Mulder nervously said as they had shut the door.

"So?" Scully asked knowing where he was headed.

"I… ehh… I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow", he then said and moved towards the door.

"Mulder!" Scully said as he was taking his jacket on.

"Yeah?" he said still nervous.

"You can stay if you want to", she told him with a cute little smile on her face.

"Oh!" he said and removed his jacket again. "That would be… nice!"

Scully couldn't believe it. He was actually more nervous than she was. He was so cute when he didn't know what to do. He just stood in front of the door and looked towards Scully but not directly at her while she was standing in the other end of the room. She wanted his attention so she removed her shirt by pulling it over her head. Then she moved towards him in her black lace bra while she stepped out of her skirt and revealed her matching panties. Mulder swallowed hard and now wasn't able to take his eyes off of her. Neither was he able to move.

She stood on her toes and reached around his neck pulling him so close she could feel his growing member.

"Happy to see me?" she asked.

"Very", he answered.

She started kissing his neck making him even harder. She moved further down his neck to the top of his chest while she unbuttoned his shirt. Mulder's breathing became harder too. He let his hands discover the woman of his dreams. First they felt their way from her naked back and then down where they rested on her firm but. He gave her a squeeze before letting his hands run up and down her sides making her shiver by his touch.

"I'm gonna make love to you more than once this time", he whispered into her ear.

"Sure? You're almost an old man, Mulder!" she teased him as she kept kissing his neck and upper chest.

"You keep me young", he told her.

They started moving towards the bedroom while kissing and getting Mulder undressed. Soon they made it to the bedroom and for the first time that day Scully was able to forget about might having to lose Elias.

"I love you so much… Scully… mine… love", Mulder whispered moaning.

"Mmh, Mulder… love you too… Oh, Mulder", she moaned back.

And at that moment they both reached their first climax that night. The first of many.

* * *

The next morning Scully woke up as she heard the sound of laughter. It was coming from the living room. She felt alone and when she looked at the other side of the bed she saw Mulder wasn't there. She heard laughter again, and this time she recognized it as Elias'. It was a bit later than she usually got up, so she figured Mulder had let her sleep longer than usual and had taking care of Elias that morning. She smiled at the memory of last night. Mulder had kept her up most of the night. She hadn't thought it possible for a man his age, or even ten years younger, to be able to pull that off. But he had. He was truly wonderful in every sense of the word.

Scully decided to get dressed and check on her two guys. When she entered the room she could smell Mulder was brewing coffee for her. 'Such a gentleman' she thought. She walked over to get a cup, but on the way she put her arms around Mulder's neck and kissed his cheek.

"Good morning, Mulder", she said to him.

"'Morning", he said back and kissed her briefly on the mouth.

Then Scully walked over to Elias and kissed him on the cheek. He immediately wiped the kiss off.

"Eww!" he exclaimed. "Save that for Marvin!"

Mulder and Scully laughed at this. Now Scully saw what the two guys were eating.

"Mulder!" she said astonished. "You can't feed this to Elias!"

"Come on, Scully! Every man loves cold pizza for breakfast. I can't let this guy grow up and be a wuss!" Mulder tried to defend himself.

"It tastes good, Scully. You should try it!" Elias told her.

"I don't think so!" Scully said. "Alright, you guys can eat this, but I'm gonna eat something nutritious."

"Boooor-riiiiing!" Mulder and Elias exclaimed at the same time and then high-fived each other.

Scully just shook her head at this and had acknowledge the fact that she was outnumbered as the only girl. With the way Mulder and hers relationship had evolved she had to get use to it, she thought and smiled at the family they had become.

* * *

_So… did you like/dislike? There's probably gonna be a trial, which I think will be interesting. Let me know what you think of the story and the direction I have taken this. _


	6. The courtroom

Chapter 6 – The courtroom

Scully sat in the courtroom and felt numb. It felt like her stomach was being turned inside out and she felt like she was going to be sick. Elias and Mulder sat on a bench behind her. Elias looked scared. Like he knew this was the end of his way too short happy time with his new parents. His real parents. Elias was only five but already had he learned of such a thing as a bond stronger than any genes. A bond he knew he shared with both Scully and Mulder. Scully looked at Mulder, and couldn't help think he looked like he had just found a piece of evidence that proved that there was no such things as aliens, and everything he had ever seen, or thought he had seen, had been a lie. Mulder's panic face was evident. Scully looked away from them again. She was going to cry for sure if she watched them any longer.

It was the smallest and most worn out courtroom she had ever seen. The heat did not work but Scully didn't notice this due to her numbness. There was no jury in the family court. Only a judge, a CSO and a clerk. The judge was a woman. She looked to be approximately forty-five. She had light brown straight hair which hang perfectly down her back. Her name was Harriet J. Dover. Judge Dover took a final look in her notes before she was going to pass a verdict. Scully looked over to Tanya, the lawyer Skinner had told them about. She looked confident. This calmed Scully a bit down. If her lawyer seemed sure to win she probably didn't have anything to fear. Then she looked to Mr. Quinn, Elias biological uncle, and he seemed a bit nervous too. So did his wife, who sat just behind him holding tightly onto her purse. Then she looked to their lawyer. He too seemed calm like Tanya. Now Scully felt her stomach twist again. The judge looked up. First Judge Dover looked at Mr. Quinn. Then she looked at Scully. She looked directly into her eyes. Scully saw compassion and pity there. Scully's breath began to become heavier and she found trouble breathing.

Suddenly the judge was speaking. Scully tried but she couldn't hear what she was saying but could see her lips move. The judge went on talking for a couple of minutes but no matter how hard Scully tried she couldn't hear anything. She looked to Mulder. He had his eyes closed and an arm around Elias who sat next to him. What was happening?

The first thing she heard was Mrs. Quinn's crying. She looked at Mr. and Mrs. Quinn who stood holding each other while Mrs. Quinn sobbed. This meant Scully had won, didn't it? She was just about to smile but then Mrs. Quinn pulled out of her husband's embrace and she saw their happy faces. It had been tears of joy. They were now the legal guardians of Elias Quinn. Scully had only been his foster parent for a couple of months. Sure, it had been the best months of her life but it was all she was ever gonna get. Never again after that day was she going to see that little angel face she had come to love.

She had just lost her son and her heart felt like it exploded into a million pieces.


	7. What A Birthday Part I

_I know my last chapter was short and weird but I actually had planned to post this new chapter like the day after. Sadly I have been busy with exams, Ashley, parties and major throw-up-all-over-the-toilet hangovers. Hope you like this anyway and that the beginning isn't too confusing._

* * *

Chapter 7 – What A Birthday Part I

Mulder woke when Scully was twisting and turning in her sleep. He sat up and turned on the light on the night stand. Scully was all sweaty and had kicked her cover off of her.

"NO!" she screamed in her sleep. "…can't do this… NOO!"

"Scully, wake up! It's just a dream! Wake up!" Mulder shook her.

Scully sat up suddenly out of breath. She panted while tears ran from her eyes. It hurt Mulder's heart to see her like this.

"It was just a bad dream, Scully", he tried to calm her down as he put an arm around her.

"Mulder…" she cried as she pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Oh, Scully! It's gonna be alright. Everything is fine", he told her as he dragged her onto his lap.

"I.. dreamt that we.. That we lost him", she sobbed into his chest.

"We won't lose him, Scully. He belongs with us", Mulder told her as he padded her back.

"I know he belongs with us… but what if Judge Dover don't think so? What if Tanya can't do anything to help us?" Scully asked still with her head buried in Mulder's bare chest.

"There is four weeks till the trial, Scully. And Tanya said we have a good chance of winning. Judge Dover seemed very skeptical towards Mr. Quinn. I think she's on our side, Scully", Mulder tried to cheer her up.

They had been to a hearing that afternoon and it had actually gone pretty good. Elias had been with Maggie while Mulder had gone with Scully. Afterwards they had met with Tanya and she had given them some advice regarding the case. Everything had seemed pretty good until now.

"I know, Mulder…" she sobbed. "That dream just scared me!" she confided in him.

"That's alright, Scully. Just remember that Elias is just down the hall. No one is ever going to take him away from you. I'll take care of the both of you", Mulder promised her.

"Thanks, Mulder. I love you", she told him and her crying began to subside.

After a few minutes Scully was asleep in Mulder's lap. He didn't dare move in case it woke her up so he just kept sitting in that position. He looked at Scully's alarm clock. It read 5.38. He could sit like this until Scully woke up again. He held her close to him and smelled her hair. Even after their lovemaking earlier and her bad dream it still smelled sweet like a summer day.

* * *

"When will grandma be here?" Elias asked impatient.

"She will be along soon, Elias. Like five minutes. If you're quick you can draw her a drawing while you wait", Scully told her impatient son as she tried to remove an impossible stain from the kitchen counter.

"Okay", he said and ran to sit at the desk in his room where he had paper and his crayons.

It had been a few weeks since the hearing and Scully's nightmare. Today was Scully's birthday and for the first time in a billion years she had decided to have her family over. Bill, Tara and Matthew was going to come, Charlie and his wife Jill including their son Tom and then of course Maggie and Mulder. Mulder had actually been there for a few hours. He wanted to help out even though Scully had told him to come the same time as the other guests. Now he was preparing some cookies on a plate as Scully had told him to. It was for the guests. Scully had overdone herself and cooked them herself the night before.

"Don't eat them, Mulder!" she told him strictly.

"I'm not!" he said with his mouth clearly filled with cookies.

"Then why can't you speak proper?" she asked accusing.

"My tongue is still numb from that night I…" was all he got to say before Scully cut him off.

"Mulder! Stop it! My mom and brothers are arriving soon!" she told him as she blushed and turned back to work on the impossible stain on the counter.

"Didn't you like it?" Mulder asked in a whispering tone as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her neck.

" Mulder!" she said again but this time in a softer voice.

She turned around in his touch and he moved his kisses from her neck to her mouth. His hands held her close and hers found their way into his hair.

"Are you going to tell them about… you know; us, today?" Mulder asked resting his forehead against hers.

"I don't know. I won't lie about it. Not anymore. But part of me fears it too", she explained to him.

"I know. Your brothers are going to kick my ass, aren't they?" Mulder grinned but was actually serious.

"Bill will probably want to. But Charlie is usually a bit more relaxed. I think you will like him. He is a Knicks fan too", Scully said and smiled.

"He sounds like a reasonable man", Mulder smiled and gave Scully a hug.

There was a knock on the door. Scully was going to answer it when Elias came running from his room and ran towards the door with a speed even lightning would envy.

"Grandma!" Elias exclaimed happy and gave Maggie a hug as he had opened the door.

"Oh! Hello to you too, Elias", Maggie laughed and hugged her grandson.

"Elias!" Scully laughed. "Let your grandma in before you attack her!"

"That's okay", Maggie said and entered the door. "Happy birthday, Dana!"

Scully received a hug from her mom, before she eyed the present in her bag.

"Is that for me?" she asked with a sudden childlike expression and pointed to the bag.

"Oh, Dana! I haven't even said hello to Fox yet. You never were the patient one, were you?" Maggie said and shrugged her head at her youngest daughter.

"Hi, Mrs. Scully", Mulder greeted her and went to give her a handshake but Maggie pulled him in for a hug.

"It's good to see you, Fox", Maggie told him.

"Good to see you too, Mrs. Scully", Mulder said innocent.

"Can I open my present now?" Scully cut in on their conversation.

"Oh, Dana! Go ahead, if you absolutely can't wait", Maggie told her daughter like a mother would tell her five-year-old.

Scully took the present and ran to the couch where she began to unwrap it. It was beautiful wrapped in red paper but Scully tore it open, impatient to see what it was.

"Wow!" Scully exclaimed when she saw her present.

It was two framed pictures of Elias. One of them was taken by a professional and the frame was silver. Elias sat smiling at her in the picture. He was wearing a nice white shirt and his hair was not as messy as usual. His earring made him look a bit like a little rebel but his angelic features and beautiful eyes and smile made up for that. The other was a picture taken by Maggie one of the time she had babysat for Scully. In that picture he was completely absorbed in drawing a portrait of his grandma.

"It's from Elias and me both", Maggie told her smiling at how happy the present had made Scully.

"Thank you so much, mom", Scully exclaimed and gave her mom a big hug.

"And thank you, Elias", she said and gave her son a hug too.

"Stop it!" Elias ordered when Scully kissed him on the cheek.

They all laughed at this. Mulder took the pictures in his hands and looked in awe at them and felt like a proud father. Maggie saw his reaction and smiled to herself.

Now there was another knock on the door. Scully went to open with Elias right behind her.

"My big sister!" Charlie greeted Scully and gave her a big hug.

"Charlie boy!" she greeted back and held him close. "When did you get so damn high? You are supposed to be my baby brother!"

"I think that changed when I turned 12, Dana!" he said and laughed earning a punch from Scully.

"Be good, kids!" Maggie yelled at them from the couch where she talked with Mulder.

"Sure mom!" they called back in unison. Mulder laughed inwardly at this.

"So is this the Elias I have heard so much about?" Charlie asked sweet and squatted next to Elias.

"Yes it is", Scully answered smiling.

"Your grandma has told me you have borrowed my room", Charlie stated.

"She said it was okay with you", Elias answered fearing he had done something he wasn't supposed to.

"Of course it's okay. I'm your uncle, you know?" Charlie laughed.

"Oh! Are you the one who hates Mulder?" he whispered so only Charlie could hear it.

"No", Charlie laughed. "I'm Uncle Charlie, and I haven't met this Mulder yet. It's your uncle Bill who isn't too keen on Mulder."

"You will like him. He's my friend!" Elias told his uncle proud.

"Really? I thought he was Dana's friend", Charlie said and looked at Dana who was saying hello to her nephew; Tom.

"Actually they are kissing friends", Elias whispered and laughed secretive.

"They are?" Charlie asked in disbelief but also chuckling.

"Mhm. But don't tell anybody else, I don't think they want anyone to know", Elias smiled knowing he could trust Charlie.

"I promise", he said and winked. "I think I'm gonna say hello to Mulder now. Will you introduce me, Elias?"

Elias nodded and took Charlie's hand and led him over to the couch were Mulder was chatting with Maggie.

"Mulder, this is my Uncle Charlie, and this is my friend Mulder!" Elias said and crawled over to sit on Mulder's lap.

"So you are the famous Mulder!" Charlie chuckled and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi, Charlie. I've heard much about you. Nice to meet you too", Mulder told him smiling and shook his hand.

"So? You work with Dana?" he asked knowing the answer.

"Uhm... Yeah, I do. But we're friends too, that's why I'm here", Mulder told him honest.

"Oh! _That's_ why you're here", Charlie laughed to himself. "And Elias told me you were his friend as well", he said and motioned to Elias who had climbed to his grandma as he got bored with Mulder and Charlie's conversation.

"Yeah, he's the greatest kid ever. And Sc… Dana is such a good mother", Mulder ranted as he looked at Elias.

"She always was kind of motherly around me too. Seeing I was her younger brother and all. I always knew she would be a terrific mom", Charlie smiled at the memories.

"She can be like that sometimes", Mulder stated as he gazed at Scully who was talking to Jill, Charlie's wife.

Mulder watched her as if it was in slow-motion. Scully laughed and threw her head back a little making her hair look like something from a shampoo commercial. She was the definition of beauty. As Mulder was caught up thinking about Scully and how breathtaking she was someone had entered the apartment and was standing over him. As Mulder looked up to see who it was his heart skipped a beat.

"Bill!" Mulder greeted him, but when he got up from the couch quickly to shake his hand he got dizzy and tripped over the coffee table.

*Just shoot me right now* Mulder thought as he kept his eyes closed in pure embarrassment.

"Oh, Mulder! Are you okay?" Scully asked kneeling beside him as she had crossed the room before anyone had noticed what even happened.

"No", Mulder whispered hoping she would get him out of this room.

"Help me get him into the bedroom!" Scully ordered never looking away from him.

Charlie jumped to help while Bill stood motionless never having seen anything more clumsy. Charlie and Scully got him into the bedroom while Mulder still hadn't opened his eyes and wasn't going to before he was alone with Scully.

"Is he alright?" Charlie asked concerned.

"Yeah. He just needs to lay down for a bit", Scully answered in a calm voice.

"Good. I'll go tell the others", Charlie decided.

As soon as Charlie left the bedroom Mulder opened his eyes in a grin.

"How can anyone be as stupid as me?" he then asked Scully as he took her hand in his.

"You're not stupid, Mulder. You were just nervous and got up too soon", Scully told him caringly and kissed his hand.

"At least I didn't get to upset Bill. I embarrassed myself instead", Mulder laughed and Scully did so too.

"I love you, Mulder", Scully stated as she looked at him with all the love and passion she could flaunter.

"I love you too, Scully", he said and she moved down to kiss him.

It was sweet and gentle yet passionate. He snuck one arm down to her hip and the other one he used to hold her head. She rested her hands on his strong shoulders but soon they found their way to his neck. Scully moaned into their kiss which made Mulder let his tongue into play. They sat like this for minutes not knowing someone was standing in the doorway watching them.

* * *

_Uhhhh… To be continued. And hopefully soon, if you like?_


	8. What A Birthday Part II

_Sorry for the long wait again. I have been neglecting you! I just don't know which one of my stories to update first. I have, however, made a poll on my profile where you can tell me which one of my stories you like the best, and then I will try to update the most liked first! That way I make the most people happy I reckon. _

* * *

Chapter 8 – What A Birthday Part II

_"I love you, Mulder", Scully stated as she looked at him with all the love and passion she could flaunter._

_"I love you too, Scully", he said and she moved down to kiss him._

_It was sweet and gentle yet passionate. He snuck one arm down to her hip and the other one he used to hold her head. She rested her hands on his strong shoulders but soon they found their way to his neck. Scully moaned into their kiss which made Mulder let his tongue into play. They sat like this for minutes not knowing someone was standing in the doorway watching them._

After a few minutes alone Mulder and Scully decided it was time to join the party. Mulder really just wanted to stay in the bedroom and kiss but he knew Scully needed to be with her family today. It wasn't often she got to see them and he for one wasn't going to keep her from spending time with her family, which he felt he had done way too much in the past.

The moment they walked into the living room everyone looked at them, of course. Mulder felt slightly embarrassed form having been so extremely clumsy. But being Fox Mulder included making fun of any situation that could be uncomfortable. So he did with a witty and smart comment as always, which made Scully laugh along with the rest of the family.

"What can I say? The coffee table attacked me!" he said in a serious but kidding tone.

Elias didn't quite get the joke but looked kind of frightened at the coffee table as if was going to attack him too. He was such a funny kid. He walked slowly away from the coffee table and over to Mulder who had taken a few more steps into the room. The rest of the room had gone back to their chit-chat and Elias pulled on Mulder's shirt for his attention.

"Elias!" Mulder said happy to see him as always as he lifted him up to rest on his hip, even though he was probably too big to be carried around. "What's up, little guy?" he asked him as he saw he looked a bit shook up.

"Did the table really attack you?" he asked in a whisper with eyes wide.

Mulder tried hard not to laugh at this. "No, Elias", he said chuckling a bit. "It was just something I said."

"Why would you say something like that?" he asked, though he seemed a bit relieved.

"Because I was so unbelievable clumsy, I thought it would be better if I just made people laugh at it, and forget it", he tried to explain and Elias seemed to get what he was saying.

"I thought you hit your head because you didn't open your eyes", Elias said in a low whisper. "I was afraid something happened to you", he said and Mulder could see he had really scared the kid. He felt really bad about that.

"I am sorry, Elias!" Mulder said sincerely. "I didn't mean to scare you", Mulder said thinking that maybe someday Elias would actually see him hurt, and wondered how scared that would make the little boy, who honestly didn't deserve any more scares. He had had enough for a lifetime. "Just remember this, Elias. If I ever do that again; pretend to be asleep – then it's only because I am afraid. I am just pretending. And you shouldn't be scared of that, right?"

"No, of course not!" Elias laughed happy again. "But you shouldn't pretend sleep around mom too much! Once I did that in the morning, she threatened to throw ice cold water at me!" the boy said wide eyed and serious.

"I'll try to remember that. Thank for the heads up", Mulder said holding back a laugh.

"We men gotta stick together", Elias said and winked at Mulder while smirking.

Now Mulder had to laugh out loud and hug the little boy. "You really are one of a kind, kid!" he told him as he rested him on the hip again after the hug.

"Mulder!" Scully said in a strict tone as she walked towards them. "I have told you a billion times; He is too old to be carried around!"

"I know, Scully", Mulder whined. "But soon he will be so big that I can't even carry him anymore!" he explained. "I want to hold him while he is still small enough for me to do so."

"I like it here", Elias said with his puppy dog eyes as he put his arms around Mulder's neck; afraid Scully would make him go down.

"Alright, alright!" Scully said and finally smiled at the beautiful sight before her. The man she loved and her son looking like father and son. This was what every woman dreamt of. Including Scully.

"I wish I didn't have to turn into a big boy!" Elias pouted.

"Aw, Elias. Don't be sad!" Mulder said hating to see this little boy upset.

"I know you like it when Mulder holds you", Scully began. "But when you are bigger you can do other fun things with him instead. And you will be having so much fun you won't even miss this."

"Fun things? Like what?" Elias demanded not quite seeing what he wasn't able to do now.

"Well", Mulder took over. "I can help you with your homework when you start in school. We can play basketball and baseball together when you are big enough to do that. And when you are all grown up I can tell you all about the ladies", Mulder said and winked at the little boy who blushed.

"Mulder!" Scully said and shook her head laughing. "And what kind of experience do you have on that subject?" she asked questioning his knowledge about the other sex.

"I got you, don't I?" he whispered. "It takes some man to be worthy of the fine Dana Scully!"

"Yeah, he has the prettiest girl in the whole world!" Elias said rather high for Scully's liking.

"And the smartest!" Mulder added.

"And the best dancer!" Elias said remembering all those dances they had shared in this living room.

"And the funniest!" Mulder supplemented further.

"And the best mother ever!" Elias said making Scully softhearted.

"And… the best kisser!" Mulder winked at Elias who just made an 'are-you-serious?'-face.

"That's enough, you guys", Scully blushed but was also rather touched by their kind words.

Maggie watched as the three of them stood talking. Mulder with Elias on his arm and Scully standing close to them. They looked so happy. She thought for a moment, if her daughter might be more than friends with Mulder. They were so close. But if she was, she would have told her mother. Wouldn't she?

As Elias went to play with his new cousin Tom and Mulder went to the bathroom, Bill walked towards Scully. He didn't look very pleased. Scully knew he had problems with Mulder but thought he would be able to hide that for her birthday at least.

"Dana, I need to talk to you!" Bill said firm and looked down at her with his blue eyes matching hers.

"About what?" she questioned looking right back at him.

"Just… come on!" he said and grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards her bedroom.

They went in and Bill closed the door after them. Scully feared what he would say. She couldn't stand to hear anything bad about Mulder. She had planned to tell her family about them being more than friends finally but how could she do that if Bill had to be… well, Bill!

"So what do you want, Bill?" she asked him not sounding very happy.

"Are you fucking Mulder?" he asked her taking her completely by surprise.

"Excuse me?" she asked hurt and rather offended by his question.

"Oh my God, you are, aren't you?" he said and ran a hand through his hair as he sighed.

"That's none of your business, Bill!" Scully said angry.

"None of my business? You're my sister, for God's sake! Of course it's my business, who you're fucking", he said very matter-of-factly.

"Would you please stop saying it like that? You make it sound so physical!" she told him. Of course her and Mulder's relationship was physical but not only. It wasn't just fucking. They made love when they were together. It didn't matter how they did it, because if it were the two of them it was lovemaking, no doubt about it.

"How can it be anything else than physical, Dana? The guy is a loon! I know you work together, and you're friends and all… but seriously – how can anyone fall in love with a guy like him?" Bill asked completely honest.

Lucky for Bill, Scully didn't get to attack him as she wanted to, because now Charlie came into the room.

"Hey you guys. What are you doing in here?" he asked and walked over to stand next to Bill.

"Dana is fucking Mulder!" Bill told him. "Can you believe it?"

Charlie laughed at this which startled both Scully and Bill. "Oh, Bill! You have a way with words", he said laughing even harder. "But I already knew this", he informed them.

"How?" Scully questioned him. "Did Mulder tell you?" she asked not seeing why he would have done that.

"Hell no!" Charlie kept laughing. "But Elias told me that you and Mulder were 'kissing friends'!"

"Oh!" Scully said blushing.

"Your kid knows?" Bill asked furious.

"Yeah. Of course he does. I am not lying to my son, Bill!" she said angry at her older brother.

"Just the rest of the family then?" Bill said pissed.

"Actually I planned on telling you tonight. So if the two of you could keep your cool until then, it would be much appreciated", she told them strict.

"Of course, Danes", Charlie said sweet and gave her a hug. "I am so happy for you. Mulder seems like a really nice guy, and I seriously believe he loves you."

"He does", Scully confirmed.

"Now, if you will excuse me? I have a party to host", Dana said and walked out the door.

* * *

The day went by fast and before they knew it they were sitting by the couch area eating desert. Scully had told Mulder about her little chat with her brothers and he had stayed close to her ever since. Afraid of getting beat up by Bill. Everyone where talking around the table. Maggie, Bill, and Tara with little baby Matthew were seated on the couch. Tom and Elias sat on the right side of the couch – they had become rather good friends already even though there was a slight age difference. Charlie and Jill sat left to the couch and were talking to Maggie and Bill on the couch. Tara was too busy with her little baby to join in the conversation for now. Across from the couch sat Mulder and Scully on the floor.

"Should I tell them now?" she whispered to Mulder while everyone else was distracted.

"Um… Yes", he said rather nervous. "You need me to do anything?"

"No, Mulder", she said loving and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Everybody in the room saw her kiss and was now looking at them. Scully got up from the floor and Mulder followed her.

"I have something to tell you – _we_ have something to tell you", Scully corrected herself and looked smiling at Mulder who smiled back at her.

"Mulder and I are…" suddenly she didn't know what to say. Girlfriend/boyfriend didn't sound serious for two people their age. Lovers wasn't right either. Partners they had been a long time. What were they?

"In love!" Mulder finished for her.

"Yeah", Scully agreed. "Mulder and I are in love. And we are no longer just friends and partners."

"Oh, Dana!" her mother exclaimed and got up to hug her. "I never thought you would finally realize it!" she said and gave Mulder a big hug after she was done with Scully.

"I am so happy for you", Tara said. "I always thought you should be more than friends."

It felt so good to have finally told everyone. Mulder and Scully was both relieved. Everyone seemed to take it okay. Bill just kind of mumbled to himself but he always had to be a party pooper. Elias didn't quite get why everyone was so surprised.

"Are they stupid or something?" Elias asked Mulder in a whisper.

"No! Why would they be stupid?" he said surprised.

"I knew from the first time I met you that you were more than friends. And I am just a child. Aren't grown-ups supposed to be smarter than kids?" he asked frowning.

"I guess they are, Elias", Mulder laughed. "But you are a special kid. And you see things in others that most people don't", he told him.

"I am smart?" he asked beaming at Mulder.

"Yeah. Very smart!" Mulder said and picked him up and hugged him.

"What are you two talking about?" Scully asked them as she saw them hug.

"How smart I am!" Elias said happy as Mulder sat him back down again.

"You are very smart!" Scully told him and ran a hand through his hair.

"Mulder said that too", Elias told Scully proud.

"Of course he did. Now go say goodbye to your cousin. They are gonna leave soon", Scully told Elias and looked at Mulder with a happy and loving face.

"What are you smiling for, Scully?" he asked as he put his arms around waist.

"Just you. Being so sweet with Elias. He thinks of you as a father, you know?" she asked as her hands went around his waist as well.

"I wish I was his father", he told her honest in a whisper.

"I think you should talk to him about this, Mulder. Right now though, I just want you to kiss me", she told him in her irresistible sexy voice.

"Your family are here, Scully!" he tried to argue – mainly because he didn't want to upset Bill.

"They are in the other end of the room, Mulder!" she told him leaning in on him.

He looked to see they were indeed in the other end of the room. He looked back at her and she looked so beautiful. How could he ever resist her?

"Happy birthday, Scully. I love you", he told her and leant in for the kiss.

As always Mulder forgot everything about where he was and who was in the room the moment he kissed Scully. Her hands held on tight to his shirt at his back while his hands travelled down hers and rested on her perfect round little heart shaped bum. Suddenly he heard someone laughing. He stopped kissing Scully and as they looked towards the others they were all standing looking at them giggling. Scully's face became red and they stepped away from each other.

"If you can let go of Fox's lips for a second, I would like to say goodbye to you", Maggie laughed but made Scully's face even more red. "It has been a wonderful day, Dana", she said and hugged her daughter tight.

"Thanks, mom. Thanks for coming and thank you so much for the gift – I love it!" she told her mom and gave her a genuine Dana Scully-smile.

Scully hugged all of her guests goodbye. Mulder hugged the women and gave a handshake to Scully's brothers.

"Ehm… bye, Bill", he didn't quite know what to say.

"Bye, Mulder", Bill answered cold.

"Bye, Charlie. It was nice to meet you", Mulder told him honest.

"Likewise. Take care of my sister, will you?" he said and winked suggestively which made Mulder's cheek redden a bit.

"Uhm… yeah, sure", he just said.

Soon everybody had left. Elias had gone to bed without any trouble this night. He was worn out from playing with his new cousin. Mulder and Scully had just finished cleaning the place up when Mulder picked Scully up and carried her to the bedroom. He lay down a top of her and started kissing her neck while undressing slowly.

"I haven't given you my present yet", Mulder said never stopping the attack of kisses on her neck.

"This will do just fine, Mulder", Scully moaned.

"I have bought you something though… But if you don't want it…" he started now looking into her eyes while talking.

"No, Mulder. I want it!" she said smiling at him.

Mulder reached down to her nightstand and took a neatly wrapped present from under there. Scully looked at it suspiciously.

"You didn't wrap this, Mulder", she stated as they now sat facing each other in the bed only wearing their underwear.

"I know", he smiled at her. "Open it. Aren't you curious?"

"Yeah", she said and began to open it. "Mulder, what is this?" she asked surprised.

"Can't you see what it is?" he asked her afraid she didn't like it.

"I can see what it is!" she stated. "But… why?"

"I wanted to give you the sort of gift lovers give each other, not like that stupid keychain", he told her even though he still thought it was a pretty cool keychain.

"I love it, Mulder", she said smiling. "I am just surprised you would give me something like this!" she said but sounded happy as she looked down at the lingerie. It was beige with a black flower pattern on it. It even had holdup stockings with it. It was extremely sexy and very much something Scully would have bought for herself if she was to spend that kind of money on underwear.

"Actually that is more a gift for me than for you", Mulder told her smirking. "I have something else for you too, Scully", he said smiling.

"I like this, Mulder", she told him honest. "You don't have to give me anything else", she told him and kissed him passionate roaming his lovely messy hair with her fingers. He gently pushed her away.

"I think you will like this even better, Scully", he told her cupping her cheek tenderly. "This is my real gift for you", he said while receiving another gift from her nightstand. It was smaller and wrapped more… yeah well: more Fox Mulder-ish.

"Now this one is a classic Fox Mulder wrapping", she told him smiling at the fact he had taken time to do that himself.

"No teasing, Scully", he told her and kissed her forehead. "Please open."

And she did. She unwrapped the paper he had spent minutes trying to get to look pretty in a matter of seconds.

"Wow!" she exclaimed as she opened the present. "It's beautiful", she told him as she eyed the content of the box she had opened. Inside of it was a silver necklace with little diamonds lined all the way around. It was a thin necklace so it didn't look exaggerated at all. It just looked beautiful. Along with it was a matching pair of earrings and a matching bracelet. It was a beautiful set.

"I am so glad you like it, Scully", he said and sighed relieved. "It is actually a family heir loom. It has been in our family since my great grandmother moved here from Poland. She passed it on to my grandmother, her daughter, and since my father was a lonely child he got it and gave it to my mother. She was suppose to give to Samantha on her 18 year old birthday. I found it after my mom died and I wanted to give it to you. There is a list of names over the women who have owned the jewelry inside the box."

Scully looked at the blue velvet inside the box and saw the four names with silver stitching:  
_Ewa Giertruda Pawlak  
Agata Agnieszka Zielinski  
Elizabeth Kuipers  
Dana Katherine Scully_

"This is too much, Mulder", Scully said in a whisper with tears in her eyes.

"Nothing is too much for you, Scully. I love you. I wanna spend the rest of my life taking care of you and Elias. And I want you to have this", he told her loving with his arms on her shoulders as he kissed her gentle on the mouth.

"It's so beautiful, Mulder. I have never gotten a present like this before", she said and dried her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked at it again and wondered; "Why is it your mother's maiden name, which are imprinted in this?" she asked noticing it said Kuipers and not Mulder.

"They are all maiden names", Mulder said a bit too quick and added. "I don't know why."

What he wouldn't want her to know was that there was a ring belonging to the set. An engagement ring. But he didn't think Scully was ready for that yet. And he hadn't had the courage to face a rejection. He would ask her someday. Of that he was sure. He took the box with the jewelry and put it on top of the nightstand. Then he made love to Scully. Sweet and gentle love.

Afterwards they talked about how cute Elias had been that day. Scully laughed out loud; when Mulder told him what Elias had said about men gotta stick together. After a few more words they fell asleep, her lying on his chest and their legs so entangled it wasn't to see where the one began and the other ended. The last thought Scully had before sleep finally took over was; what a birthday it had been.

* * *

_Alright so Mulder didn't have the guts to ask Scully to marry him. What do you guys think; would she had said yes even though they have only been 'lovers' for not even two months? Want me to still continue this – just leave me one of your wonderful reviews and tell me :) _


	9. Mulder's clone

Chapter 9 – Mulder's clone

When Elias woke up, he couldn't hear a sound. Mulder and Scully were probably still asleep in their room. The little boy got out of bed and walked over to his desk. There was a drawing he had been working on last night, when Scully came in and announced it was his bedtime. So far there was a man and a woman in the drawing. They were smiling and holding hands. The man was tall and had dark hair and a big nose. The woman had fire red hair and was three heads shorter than the man. Elias began drawing more to the unfinished picture. He drew a boy standing between the man and woman under their joined hands. He added a smiling sun in the upper right corner and a few puffy blue clouds as well as a perfect house in the background with a porch. He couldn't figure out what was missing in the picture. Everyone looked happy. Everything was colored nicely. He ran his little hand through his hair as he had seen Mulder do when he thought about something. A few minutes later he knew what he wanted to add to the drawing. He drew another little boy in the picture, sitting beside the first boy's feat. He was wearing a diaper and had a pacifier in his mouth. Now the picture was finished. It was perfect. This was what Elias wanted the most. To be a part of a whole family. Being with Mulder and Scully were fine, and he loved them more than anything. But he wanted a sibling as well. And preferably a boy he could play with and teach things like Mulder taught him things. He wanted to be a big brother.

Elias smiled inwardly and ran to show Scully the picture. He stormed out of his room and towards his mom's bedroom. Just as he was about to enter, he slowed down. He opened the door just a little bit and looked in. They were still asleep. Scully was facing Elias and Mulder was spooned up behind her. She was wearing the grey t-shirt Mulder had worn the day before. Elias wondered why she didn't sleep in her own clothes. Mulder slept bare-chested. They both looked content as they were sleeping. Lately they hadn't been looking this calm. They had been more tensed, more nervous. They had told Elias, it was because they were afraid of losing him. They had told him he had an aunt and an uncle. They had also asked him, if he would rather live with his family. They said they wouldn't be angry if he chose to live with them. They would understand, even though they would be devastated not to have him in their lives anymore. Elias found that very peculiar. How could they even suggest such a thing? Of course Elias wanted to stay with Scully and Mulder. She was his mom now. And Mulder was… his father? Elias was a bit confused in that area. He knew Scully was his mom, she had told him it was okay if he called her that, and that she wanted to be. But Mulder had never said anything like that. He acted like a dad towards him though. And Elias thought he was the best dad ever. But they had never talked about it. Elias waited for Mulder to bring it up, and Mulder waited for Elias.

The five-year-old tip-toed towards the big bed. He lay his fine drawing on the nightstand, and crawled under the duvet, to lie besides Scully. She opened her eyes slightly. When she saw Elias a little smile pulled on her lips. She elbowed Mulder to wake him up.

"Mmh! What is it?" he asked sleepy, nuzzling his nose in her hair.

"We have a visitor", she told him and nodded towards Elias.

"Oh! I see", Mulder said smiling himself, as he sat up a little bit. "You're up early today."

"I have made you something", Elias said smiling now too. He sat up in the bed and took the drawing to give to them.

They sat up too and looked at the drawing together. First they looked happy, but then they looked scared. They looked at each other, as if not knowing what to say. Then they looked at Elias.

"Don't you like it?" he asked sad.

"Sure we do", Scully said. "I am just surprised. Why have you drawn a baby?"

"It's a little brother!" he exclaimed happy. "It's my dream."

"You had a dream, where you had a baby brother?" Mulder asked him trying to hide his panic.

"No. It's my dream when I am awake", he explained.

"You can't have a brother, Elias…" Scully whispered sad.

"It's just my dream; I am not asking you for one. I am happy just being with you!" Elias said and hugged his mom. He was afraid he had made her sad now.

Scully hugged Elias back. She pulled him into her lap and hugged him tight. A tear ran down her cheek. Mulder felt helpless and guilty. Scully couldn't give him a brother, but not because she didn't want to. But because she was unable to conceive. And it was because of Mulder.

Mulder put his arm around Scully and whispered into her hair, "I am so sorry, Scully."

"It's fine, Mulder", she said and sniffled. "It's okay. I am happy now. And I have a child like I always wanted. The best child in the whole world", she said and kissed Elias on the forehead. He normally didn't agree with kisses, but for his mother's happiness he was willing to compromise.

"I love you, mom!" he said and kissed her cheek in return.

"And I love you, Elias", she told him now looking happy again. "Actually Mulder and I have a surprise for you today."

"You have?" he asked forgetting all about sadness.

"We sure have", Mulder continued. "It's something you asked us about a long time ago. Something to do with a VIP tour at the J. Edgar Hoover Building."

"Really?" he asked eyes wide open in disbelief.

"Of course. We promised you, remember?" Mulder answered him.

"You are the best dad ever!" Elias exclaimed without even thinking about it and jumped into Mulder's arms. Elias always thought of Mulder as his father and it had just slipped.

First Mulder was chocked. Had he heard right? Did Elias really think of him as his father? Then he felt unbelievable happy. This had been his biggest wish for so long, and it had just been granted. He hugged Elias and said; "And you are the best son ever, Elias."

* * *

"Wow", Elias said as they walked into the building. "This is so cool!"

The boy had been overly exited since they had told him about their plan. They walked towards the metal detector, with Elias holding Scully's hand, and Mulder going through the detector first.

"Good morning, agent Mulder", the security guard, Nicholas Hanson, greeted Mulder warmly. "Strange to see you enter this way."

"Yeah I know. We are showing Elias around and we wanted him to have the full experience", Mulder told him nodding towards the little boy who was eagerly pointing at something and pulling on Scully's hand, so she would look too.

"Oh, I see. That's Scully's kid, huh?" he asked.

"Yes. It is", Mulder said with a dreamy look on his face.

"Come on, Elias", Scully told him smiling at his eagerness. "We need to go through this metal detector."

"Wow! What's a metal detector?" he asked curious and watched Scully go through it.

"It knows if you have any metal on you. Like weapons. It's to keep the bad guys out", she explained and walked nearer the detector. "When I go through it's gonna beep, look at this", she told him and walked though it, causing it to beep away. Elias looked at it with interest.

"Now Nicholas, he is a security guard, is gonna check where I have the metal. He uses this smaller metal detector", she told Elias and Nicholas did what she had said he would. It began to beep at her neck.

"It just beeps because I have some metal chip in my neck. Nicholas knows that, but he has to check anyway. He is very good at his job", she told Elias and smiled at Nicholas.

"Thank you, ma'am", he smiled back at Scully. "Now it's your turn, young man", he said addressing Elias in a polite and warm tone. "Just walk through like your mamma did."

"I can't", Elias said and looked guilty.

"Sure you can. Don't worry it won't beep", Mulder told him calm.

"You don't understand. It will beep. Because I have a gun!" Elias said looking up at them with a guilty expression.

Scully, Mulder and even Nicholas stood chocked. Neither knew what to say. Their eyes were wide with chock and their mouths hang open.

Then Elias began to laugh. "You are so easy!" he then told them and ran through the detector.

"Elias!" Mulder exclaimed half laughing half accusing.

"It was a joke!" Elias said.

"You can't joke about guns, Elias! It will get you into trouble!" Mulder told him.

"Oh! I am sorry. I thought it was funny", he told them not understanding their lack of humor.

Then Nicholas began to laugh almost hysterical. "You have been hanging out with Mulder too much, Elias!" he then exclaimed. "His bad humor has rubbed off on you."

Elias and Scully joined in on laughing but Mulder was rather offended.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "If anyone has a bad humor, it's the three of you!" he accused them and folded his arms over his chest.

"Aw, Mulder", Scully said and pinched his cheek. "Don't be absurd. We love your humor!"

"Thanks", he said still sounding a little offended.

"Don't be angry!" Elias begged him.

"Of course I am not angry with you, E.!" Mulder said and picked the little guy up. "Now, let's go see the rest of this place!"

"Yeah", Elias agreed. "And remember to show me that special place too. The place most agents don't even get to see!"

"What place?" Scully asked not remembering.

"The basement", Elias told her in a spooky yet funny voice. He really did have a Mulder sense of humor.

"That's the most important place in the building", Mulder told her. "Because that's the place I met your mom for the first time."

"That's so sweet, Mulder", Scully told him and grabbed his hand, the one which wasn't holding Elias, and gave it a squeeze.

They walked through all the floors, and Elias was so exited the whole time. They hadn't seen anyone else the whole day. It was nice to be able to walk down the hallways, without someone whispering about you. They came to one of the hallways they had seen the most over the years. It was the hallway where Skinner's office is. They saw the lights were on in there and wondered if he was working this fine Saturday.

"Should we go see if he is there?" Mulder asked Scully as Elias was busy looking at all the pictures on the walls.

"Yeah, let's do so. He could meet Elias too", Scully decided.

"Alright", Mulder agreed. "Elias, come here!" Mulder nodded him over.

"What?" he asked them impatient to see more.

"This is the office of our boss. His name is Walter Skinner. Do you want to meet him?" Mulder asked.

"Okay", he said happy.

"Remember to be civilized and polite towards him", Scully reminded him as she fixed his hair.

"Of course. I'll be an angel!" he promised.

Mulder knocked on the door. "Ehm... Come in!" Skinner answered. He probably wasn't expecting visitors on a Saturday. He probably wasn't expecting anyone else to be in the building.

"Hello, sir", Mulder greeted him. "Scully and I were just showing Elias around the building, I hope that's okay?" Mulder suddenly wondered.

"Yes, of course. That's fine", Skinner smiled as he saw the little boy shyly holding his mother's hand.

"Good afternoon, agent Scully. Good afternoon, Elias, I have heard so many things about you", he told the little boy.

"Don't believe everything you hear, sir", he answered him smiling politely but looking mischievous at the same time.

Skinner laughed a genuine laughter. "You have been spending a lot of time with Mulder, huh?" he asked him.

"Yes I have, sir. He is my best friend!" he exclaimed happy and smiled at Mulder.

"That's good to hear. So have you met Tanya yet?" he asked. Tanya was Scully's lawyer, and Skinner's friend. Maybe they were more than friends, Mulder and Scully wondered.

"Yeah I have met Tanya. She is funny!" Elias told Skinner as he remembered her light humor.

"She really is. And do you like the building here, Elias?" Skinner then asked.

"It's the biggest place I have ever been!" he exclaimed. "But we haven't seen the most important place yet."

"Oh, you haven't? And where would that be?" Skinner asked not really knowing what the most important place was.

"The basement, of course!"

Skinner laughed at this. "Oh, of course."

"You probably have some work to do, sir. We will leave you to it", Mulder said and headed for the door with Scully and Elias.

"Thanks for the visit though. It was nice meeting you, Elias!" Skinner yelled after them.

"Nice meeting you too, sir", Elias yelled back.

Then the three walked to the elevator and took it all the way down to the basement. Elias looked anxious to see their little basement office. Scully didn't hope he would be disappointed. Mulder, on the other hand, couldn't see how it could disappoint. They walked down the hallway in silence. Mulder fetched a key from his pocket and opened the door and turned the lights on.

"Here it is", he said as if he was showing his home to someone. "The basement!" he exclaimed content.

Elias stood still in front of the desk. He took in the office; the posters, the order, or lack of, the basketball on the shelf and the pencils in the ceiling.

"So…" Mulder said. "What do you think, E.?"

"Well, I can see who has done the decorating", he smiled. "This is cool! I wish my room was just like this."

"I knew you would like it!" Mulder exclaimed truly happy.

"You do look like Mulder way too much", Scully mumbled but smiled nonetheless. Honestly, she could think of worse father figures.

They were in the office for some time. Elias wanted to know everything, and Mulder tried to limit the amount of information he should give a five-year-old. As Mulder sat in the chair and Elias sat on his lap, Scully had taken place in the back of the office. She sat on a chair while observing Mulder and Elias. She thought about the trial, which were going to be this Thursday. She didn't want to think about it. But she couldn't help it. It crept into her mind. She could lose her son in less than a week. It would break her heart. It would break Mulder's too. She couldn't let that happen. She thought about what Elias was going to go through with the trial alone. What if he had to be separated from them as well? He had been through so much already. Scully didn't understand how he could be sane, from some of the things he had experienced, and a separation from his new parents, would definitely not be good for him. On Tuesday Elias was going to see a psychologist and he would decide if Elias was fit to go into the courtroom and testify. Of course, it would be good for their case. Elias would definitely speak for Scully. But she didn't knew what the opposing solicitor was going to ask. A man like that probably didn't hold any mercy for kids, if that meant losing a case. And Scully would rather Elias didn't go through any of that. But she also realized that he was far too functional not to testify and she therefore couldn't do anything to protect him. She looked towards Mulder and Elias again. They were smiling and laughing. Mulder was telling some story, and Elias was listening with pure curiosity and admiration. The more she looked the more she realized that Elias had to pee. He held his legs tight and he almost jumped in Mulder's lap. She laughed inwardly at this.

"I think you are gonna have to stop your storytelling for a few minutes, Mulder", she interrupted him.

"We don't have to go yet", Mulder pouted and looked at her with his big adorable puppy eyes.

"No we don't. But Elias has to go!" she told them.

First Mulder looked unknowingly at her. Then he looked at Elias and saw his guilty expression and apologizing eyes and the way he help his legs together.

"Elias!" Mulder shook his head. "You can't just let me ramble like that. Remember to tell me when you have to go. I don't want pee in my lap", he laughed and sat Elias on the floor.

"I am sorry. You just tell such good stories", Elias said smiling and went to use the bathroom in the back of the office.

"This was a good idea", Mulder told Scully. "I think Elias enjoyed the day."

"It really was", Scully agreed but didn't look as happy as Mulder.

Mulder soon picked up though. "Come here, Scully!" he said and padded his lap.

"It is okay, Mulder. I am fine", she told him looking away from him.

"Please, Scully", Mulder now begged with something unfamiliar strained in his voice. "Don't shut me out."

Scully looked at him a bit chocked but realized that she was in fact doing that. The thing she should be doing the least. She sat down in his lap and hugged him tight. "I am sorry."

"It's okay. I am worried too, Scully. But I really think it's going to work itself out. Tanya is a fine lawyer. And I think we have a good case", he tried to calm her and himself as well.

"I know all that, Mulder. I still worry. Just make me forget our worries", she begged him.

"Okay", he nodded understanding. That was what he needed too. He gently kissed her mouth and held her in a tight embrace.

"I love you", she told him and kissed him back.

They sat like this a little while. Then they started to wonder what was taking Elias so long. Scully walked to the bathroom, and knocked on the door. It turned out there wasn't any more toilet paper. Mulder went to get some in the storage room on the third floor. On his way back to the basement he ran into someone though.

"Hello, agent Mulder", the man said faking enthusiasm.

"Hello, agent Roberts", Mulder answered him in the same voice.

"So… you stealing toilet paper?" he asked nodding towards Mulder's hand.

"Yes. Yes I am", Mulder answered not wanting to get into a conversation with this man who had spread rumors about him, and even worse; about Scully. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to get go to the copy room as well, since I am out of ordinary paper too", Mulder said coldly and walked away.

"I have heard something about Scully by the way. Something funny", Roberts said and made Mulder stop in his tracks.

"What are you talking about?" Mulder asked him, fearing he had found out about their relationship, but not letting his fear show.

"I thought you would have heard… you of all people", he kept on pressuring Mulder.

"Heard what? Just spit it out Roberts!"

"You see my kid, Zoe, goes at the same kindergarten as Scully's kid. And Zoe told me that he talked about Scully's boyfriend. A boyfriend that even picks him up at the kindergarten sometimes."

"So what? Aren't Scully aloud to have a life outside of work?" Mulder didn't really see where he was going with this.

"Zoe told me this boyfriend was an FBI agent as well. And she even told me his name", Roberts taunted Mulder.

"Oh! She did?" Mulder said trying to buy himself some time. Wondering if he would go to hell for killing Roberts. Or maybe get a ticket to heaven straight away for ridding the world of that pain.

"Yes. His name is Marvin. I checked it out and there is only one Marvin working here; Marvin Dean from VCS. Young guy, early thirties, real talented agent."

"I guess that must be Scully's guy then", Mulder answered him and smirked as he walked away.

Roberts stood like paralyzed. Was that it? Wasn't Mulder even going to have some sort of reaction to what he had just told him? It usually didn't take much to piss Mulder off. This was new to Roberts. He had to do something before Mulder turned around the corner.

"I guess that means she doesn't want to screw you anymore!" he yelled. It was a lame attempt but it had worked.

Mulder turned towards him and looked angry as hell. "Shut up!" he yelled. "Don't you dare talk like that about Scully!"

"Like what? It's no big secret, Mulder. Everyone know she has been playing you for years! She finally got tired of you, huh?"

Now Roberts had really made a mistake. Mulder practically ran towards him raising his fist as he did so. But just as he was about to hit him, and Roberts had crept down on the floor in a fetal position, he saw the toilet paper in his hand. He knew he couldn't make trouble now. Elias was waiting for him.

When Roberts looked up from his position on the floor, he saw nothing. Mulder was gone, and the hallway was once again empty. He hadn't succeeded. He hadn't done what he had been paid to do. Roberts looked at his phone. It had rung twice. He pressed the green button and held his phone up to his ear; "It's me. Mulder didn't go for it… I don't think there's anything I can do… You can have your money back, I don't care, I don't want to do it… You can't hurt my daughter! No, NO! I'll do it, I'll do it! I will do everything you ask for, just don't hurt my Zoe!"

* * *

_To be continued… _


	10. The trial

_Dedicated to all my great reviewers. And special dedication to Ashley for trying not to annoy me, and to Emily for great inspiration, especially for the last chapter! Thank you so much everyone. _

* * *

Chapter 10 – The trial

Tanya was waiting for us outside the courtroom. Elias was going to testify. Tanya had tried her best to prevent that but he had simply been too smart. Even though he was only five, he was far more developed than most kids his age. Mulder was going to testify as well. That scared Scully a bit. She didn't know who knew about him and her. Skinner didn't even know and she hadn't told her lawyer, Tanya, either. Scully had decided she would whisper it to her once they were inside the courtroom. Then she couldn't have a reaction, but she would be prepared, Scully figured.

Elias was holding Scully's hand and he was beginning to get really nervous. Mulder and Scully had told him, that he had to talk to the judge and tell her what he wanted to do. They had also said he shouldn't be nervous, but he couldn't help it. He knew he could be separated from his parents and that frightened him. He had never really known what it was like to be part of a family. Now he knew and he knew he couldn't stand to get taken away from them. They were his mom and dad. And he had cousins, uncles and aunts as well. And a grandma. He loved Maggie so much. She was with them today too, walking right next to Elias and Scully. She tried to look as if she was at ease with everything, but even she couldn't hide her nervousness.

"I love you, mom!" Elias said and held Scully's hand extra tight.

Scully picked Elias up, which she never did because she was trying to break that habit, and hugged him lovingly.

"I love you too, Elias. And we are going to do everything we can to keep you with us!" she promised him.

Tears started to form in Elias' eyes. Mulder saw this and saw how Scully was just about to break herself. He walked quickly to them, and took Elias from Scully's embrace.

"Don't cry, E. It's gonna be fine", Mulder whispered to him as he held the boy tight and let him cry on his shoulder. "We love you so much, Elias. And the judge will see that. She can't send you away!" he tried to calm Elias down just as much as he was trying to calming himself down.

"We need to go in now", Tanya informed us.

Just as she had said this, Elias' biological uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Quinn, walked past them across the hall and into the little courtroom. They looked to be in their mid forties. Mr. Quinn was tall and thin. He wasn't muscled but looked rather soft. He had slick black hair with gray tones. He was wearing a shiny black suit with a red tie. He looked very much like a banker. He walked in a straight path into the courtroom without even looking at them. His wife walked right behind him trying to keep up. She was almost as tall and thin as her husband. She was wearing a cerulean blue skirt suit with matching hat, purse and shoes. They looked as the upper class and seemed rather snobby and cold. Without knowing it, Mulder tightened his hold on Elias, and Scully grabbed the little guy's hand.

They walked into the courtroom. Elias was still holding onto Mulder's hand. Scully sat next to Tanya. In the opposite side of the room sat Mr. Quinn with his lawyer, while Mrs. Quinn sat behind them. Behind Scully sat Maggie next to Elias and next to him Mulder. Mulder gave Scully a vague smile while he was holding Elias' hand. She tried to smile back. Elias' crying had ceased, but his eyes were still a bit red. Scully couldn't believe he had to do this. But she still couldn't do anything to stop it. She was helpless.

Judge Dover walked into the courtroom, while someone said; "All rise". I have no idea where it came from but did as said. Soon we were seated again. The lawyers and judge rambled and rambled along. It was all technically and didn't make much sense to Scully. She couldn't concentrate on what they were saying anyway. Suddenly the lawyers were sitting again, and Mr. Quinn took place in the witness crank. His own lawyer asked him about many things and they established he was sane and rich. Now it was Tanya's turn to ask Mr. Quinn some things.

"So, Mr. Quinn: How much contact have you had with Elias throughout the years?"

"I haven't seen him since he was around a year old. I didn't get along with my brother very well", he said.

"Then why is it that you suddenly show this interest in the boy? Does it have something to do with your wife and you not being able to conceive yourself?"

"He is family. And I think he is better off with me and my wife than some strangers. And it has nothing to do with the fact that we can't have children. My wife and I have come to terms with that."

"But aren't you a stranger to him yourself? You said you hadn't seen him since he was one. He has lived with Ms. Scully for several months now."

"I am still his biological family. He has no connections to this Ms. Scully. She has probably been a nice foster mother, but she can't love him as his family, not really."

"So you don't believe that adoptive parents can love their child as much as biological parents?" Tanya asked in disbelief.

"Certainly not. That's why my wife and I never attempted adoption before. Because it wouldn't be real!"

Everyone in Scully's side of the room wanted to hit Mr. Quinn right about then. Even the judge looked at him a bit weird. I guess this was good for their defense, Scully thought, and tried to forget what that horrible man had just said. Now it was Scully's turn to swear an oath and answer questions. Tanya determined how close Elias and Scully was, and Scully's love for Elias was evident. She seemed way better for Elias than Mr. Quinn had. Tanya smiled as she sat down, but feared what the lawyer was gonna ask.

"Ms. Scully. You work for the FBI, right?" he asked and looked really dodgy and self-confident.

"Yes. Yes I do."

"And which kind of work do you do there?"

"I am a special agent. I work on a unit called the x-files."

"And what exactly does this unit do?"

"OBJECTION!" Tanya exclaimed and stood up. "I can't see the relevance of this, judge!"

"I think it's important to establish what Ms. Scully do. Since I don't think any of us has ever heard about this special unit it would be nice to have it explained."

"Objection overruled, but get to the point, lawyer!" Judge Dover said harsh.

"So tell me about this unit, Ms. Scully", he carried on.

"We investigate otherwise unexplained cases. Cases which are thought to have something to do with the paranormal somehow."

"Paranormal? So have you ever seen a ghost?"

"OBJECTION!" Tanya shouted a bit angrier this time. She obviously wasn't as used to someone making fun of people's profession as Scully was.

"Sustained!" Judge Dover said at once. "Stick to the case, lawyer! And stay out of religious and personal believes. That doesn't matter in this courtroom!"

The lawyer just nodded, and tried to look respectful. It was clear he had hoped to get Scully down on the x-files. But that wasn't happening. Mulder smirked at that.

"Alright. But you have a partner at work, right?"

"Yes. Mr. Mulder is both my partner and my friend", she answered trying not to let on how nervous this topic made her.

"But you are more than just friends, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are lovers aren't you?"

I looked to Tanya. I hoped she would object to this. But the look she gave me said there was no denying it. How the hell had they found out though?

"We are in a relationship, yes!" Scully answered him harsh.

"And you sleep together with Elias in the apartment?"

"Well, yes. But not in the same room."

"Is this a relationship with a future? Or are you going to introduce the boy to a lot of men?"

"It's not like that. We love each other. And Elias loves Mulder as well. Even if it doesn't work out between us, Mulder and Elias would still see each other! I would never deny them that! They are too close."

"So when both you and your boyfriend", Scully cringed at the word boyfriend. It didn't explain their relationship to the fullest. It didn't even come close. "…are both special agents, and probably out of town from time to time, then who will take care of Elias?"

"His grandmother. My mother. She takes care of him if both Mulder and I are out of town or working late."

"Do you often work late?"

"No. And if we do, we try to coordinate it, so one of us will stay while the other one picks up Elias. Like I suspect most parents do."

"Aha. And do you think you live a life like most parents?"

"I am not sure I understand, what you mean."

"Well, is your home a safe place for Elias to grow up?"

"Yes. Of course it is. We love him!"

"I meant is it safe for him! People have been shot in your apartment, haven't they?"

Scully looked down to her family, as if to find the answers there. Maggie looked sad. Mulder looked sad and guilt-ridden. Elias didn't seem to be paying attention to the boring adults, but were looking outside the window. Scully was happy he didn't hear this.

"In fact, your own sister was shot in your apartment, because they thought she was you, didn't she?"

"Yes", Scully said sad looking down.

"And how can you prevent this from happening to Elias as well? Your work leaves you with quite a few enemies, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does. But I will never let Elias be alone in the apartment. Mulder and I will always be there to protect him."

"Have you ever shot Mulder?" the lawyer suddenly changed the subject making Scully confused.

"What? I only did that because…"

"A simple no or yes answer will do, Ms. Scully", the lawyer told her. "Have you ever shot Mulder?"

"Yes, but it was…"

"Thanks. That will be all, your honor!" he said directed to the judge and sat down next to Mr. Quinn again. Both Mr. Quinn and his lawyer had a smug on their faces and seemed even more evil now.

Scully sat back down again. The next witness was some family therapist. She explained how people who weren't related could have even deeper connections sometimes, and how a kid shouldn't be moved from family to family. It was the same therapist who had spoken to Elias earlier that week, and he told the court about his analysis on the boy as well. He spoke for Scully, but the courtroom still echoed those words which had been said a few minutes earlier. Or at least they echoed in Scully's head. _'In fact, your own sister was shot in your apartment, because they thought she was you, didn't she?', 'Have you ever shot Mulder?'_

Now Elias had to witness. Suddenly everything went quiet. Even inside Scully's head. Mulder walked him up to the witness crank holding his little hand, telling him it was okay, when Elias looked pleading at him, asking with his eyes, if he had to do this.

"Hello, Elias. I am Harriet", Judge Dover said to Elias.

"Hello, ma'am", he answered her polite.

"Do you promise to tell the truth today?" she asked him as the protocol said she had to.

"Yes, ma'am, I promise", he nodded and looked to Tanya as she neared the crank.

"Hello again, Elias. I am going to ask you some questions now. Is that okay?" Tanya asked him letting him know what was going on.

"It's okay", he said and smiled at the familiar face.

Tanya just asked him about stuff like how much he loved Mulder and Scully. Tanya established that Elias would rather live with them, and that he already thought of them as his mom and dad. Now it became Mr. Quinn's lawyer's turn to question Elias. Mulder, Scully, Maggie and Tanya all held their breaths.

"Hi, Elias. My name is John!" he said trying to do right.

"Hello", Elias said and looked scared and nervous.

"So how long have you known Ms. Scully and Mr. Mulder?"

"Since New Year's Eve."

"And how did you come to know them?"

"They found me. I had run away because I didn't want to go to an orphanage."

"Where did they find you?"

"In the backseat of Scully's car. I was sleeping."

"Scully? You call her Scully?"

"Sometimes. At first I did. Because that's what Mulder calls her. But then I started to call her mom. I can't remember when."

"So what do you think of Mulder?"

"He is my best friend", Elias proudly announced and lit up. He smiled down to Mulder and he smiled back nodding approving.

"And do you think him and Ms. Scully are a good couple?"

"Yes. Of course. They feel like my mom and dad. More than my real mom and dad did. I know they love me."

"How do you know that?"

"Because they tell me everyday", Elias said, not doubting a thing like the lawyer was trying to make him.

"Is there anything you don't like about Mr. Mulder?"

"Ehm… I don't like it when he is kissing Scully."

"Really. Why not?" the lawyer asked suddenly sounding happy.

"Because kissing is gross! Eww!" Elias exclaimed and made a face as if he was gonna be sick, making the whole courtroom laugh. Well, the whole courtroom bar three.

The lawyer finally gave up, and sat down again. But Elias turned towards the judge.

"Ma'am?" he asked her gaining her attention.

"Yes?" she asked him smiling.

"Can I show you something?"

"Yes, sure you can", she told him repositioning in the chair to better focus on him.

"I have drawn you something. It's a drawing of me and my family", he told her handing her the drawing. "Do you want me to tell you who they are?"

"That would be nice", she told him leaning down so they could both see the drawing.

"Well, it's me in the middle, I am smiling because you have just said I can stay with Mulder and Scully. It's them who are standing beside me, holding my hands. That is my grandma, and she holding a pie we have made together, she is really good at baking and always let me help. These are my uncles. The cranky one is Uncle Bill. He just saw Mulder and Scully kiss and is totally grossed out. The happy one is Uncle Charlie. He is laughing because Bill is cranky. That is my cousin Tom. He is fun to play with. He is holding a soccer ball because that's his favorite sport. Mine are basketball and baseball. Just like Mulder's is!" he said and finally looked up from the drawing and straight into Judge Dover's brown eyes.

"Objection, your honor!" Mr. Quinn's lawyer said. "This can be something Ms. Scully has put him up to. To gain your sympathy!"

"Why have you drawn this, Elias?" Judge Dover asked but in a nice way, and only to be able to sustain objection.

"I thought it would be easier to show you my family with a drawing", Elias explained. "This is my family!" he said and held tight on the drawing. "They love me and I love them. Please don't take me away from them, ma'am! I don't wanna live with them, they scare me", he said pointing to Mr. and Mrs. Quinn.

"It's alright, dear. Just go sit down again", she told Elias smiling.

* * *

Scully was paralyzed again. Just like in her dream. Everything happened in slow motion. She watched the judge come back through the door in the back of the little courtroom. All she could hear was the small humming of the AC. As if a million years away, like an echo from the last century, she heard that strange and monotone voice yell; 'All rise!'

The watch on the wall ticked away but the judge's ruling she couldn't hear. Her ears started to ring and then she heard a scream bringing her back to reality. Her ears tuned in on the present and the world went back to its normal paste. The scream had come from behind her. Her mom was hugging Elias who was clinging onto Mulder. They parted and looked at her smiling. Elias jumped into her arms and exclaimed; "We will always be together now, mom! You are my family forever!"

Tears ran down Scully's cheek as she comprehended what had happened. Was this for true? Yes! In that moment she was happier than she had ever been in her whole life. Mulder walked over to her and kissed her hair while hugging her and Elias. He too felt the happiness warm his soul and heart.

* * *

They were all back at Scully's place celebrating. They had invited the whole family over as soon as they had heard the verdict. They had invited Tanya back to their place as well, and Skinner had joined them too. They seemed like more than friends. And they made a great couple. Mulder stood up on a chair and clinked on some random wineglass gaining everyone's attention.

"Many of you already know this, and a few of you don't. I am in love with Dana Scully!" Skinner turned his head with a speed even lightening would envy at this. Tanya, however, nudged his arm and told him she would explain later. "Today was a very important day for her, and for me as well. The boy we proudly call our son", he said and smiled at Elias who smiled back from his grandma's lap. "Was allowed to stay with us forever. To be a part of our family. Now there is something I want to ask you, Scully!" he said serious and turned to her. He jumped down from the chair and held her hand. "I considered asking you this on your birthday but I didn't have the guts. And I promised myself I would ask you today, no matter how this day might have ended." He took a deep breath, and pulled a perfect engagement ring from his pocket matching the jewelry he had given her on her birthday. Everyone in the room practically gasped. "I love you, Scully. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You and our son!" he got down on one knee, holding her hand in one of his and the ring in the other. "Will you do me the great honor of being my wife?"

"Oh, Mulder!" Scully said not able to believe what she was hearing. She had never thought he would do that. If she wanted to marry him, she would have to drag him up the aisle, she had thought. And she would have been happy to do that, as long as she got to spend the rest of her life with him.

She had been so happy she had forgotten to speak. She was just holding her hand for her mouth in mere shock. Mulder's eyes started to get sad, and his head moved downwards to the floor.

"YES!" she exclaimed. "Oh, yes, Mulder! I love you!" she said as she hugged him. Due to he was still sitting in his knee he kind of lost balance and feel to the floor with her on top of him. People laughed at her eagerness and his clumsiness, but most of all because they were happy on their behave.

"Save that for the honeymoon!" Charlie howled characteristic.

Mulder and Scully got up from the floor blushing slightly. Soon Scully got dragged into the kitchen by Maggie, Tanya, Jill and Tara. Mulder was at the same time surrounded by Skinner, Charlie and even Bill.

* * *

The ladies:

"Oh, Dana! Show me the ring!" Tara exclaimed whining.

Scully proudly lifted her hand, for the first time taking a real good look at it herself. "It matches", she mumbled not noticing until now.

"What? Matches what?" her mom asked.

Scully told them about the gift Mulder had given her on her birthday and they all smiled and went; "Awwww!" as she did so.

"Did you know he was gonna ask?" Tanya asked her interested.

"Ehm, no. I never thought he would! He never gave me any hints or anything", Scully told them as she was suddenly getting bombarded with questions.

"Where are you gonna have the wedding?"

"I think you should get married in our church, Dana!"

"Or maybe on a beach, that would be super romantic!"

"How long are you gonna wait until you finally do it. You are not gonna be fiancées for like, years are you?"

"Wow-ow! Relax, girls! I have only known about this as long as you have. Now if you will excuse me, I have to use the bathroom", Scully said and left the kitchen, where she could hear the women babbled on about how romantic it had been and how much they were looking forward to the wedding already.

* * *

The dudes: 

"Mulder, you dog! You should have told me about this!" Charlie exclaimed smacking him rather hard on his shoulder.

"Congratulations, Mulder. I hope you will take good care of my sister. I know we have had our differences in the past. But I know you really love her now. And if you are that serious, you deserve a chance. But this doesn't mean I like you!" Bill told him.

"Thanks, Bill. That means a lot", Mulder nodded slightly laughing, but more of a nervous laughter. He really wanted to be with Scully right now. But the men had surrounded him.

"Well", Skinner began. "This certainly came as a surprise!"

"I know it must have, sir. And I am sorry, I just…"

"It's okay, Mulder", he grinned. "I am happy for you."

"Thank you, sir", Mulder thanked him sincere.

The men kept asking him stuff, but Mulder couldn't concentrate. Not until he had seen Scully. He catched a glimpse of Scully, standing behind the men in the door opening. She waved him to follow her.

"Hey, Elias!" he called Elias over. "Why don't you show these guys that fine drawing you showed Judge Dover?"

"Okay!" Elias said happy, and pulled it from his back pocket. While he showed them Mulder snuck out on them.

* * *

"Hey, you!" he whispered to Scully as they were alone in the bedroom.

"I never thought they would let me go!" she whispered back relieved.

"I know", Mulder grinned. "So… are you happy?" he asked her running the back of his hand down her cheek.

"More than I have ever been before!" she told him honest taking his hand in hers and looking him straight into his beautiful emerald eyes.

"I love you so much. I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you", he told her stepping closer to her capturing her lips in the most gentle and loving kiss.

"You are such a romantic!" she told him back smiling and glowing with happiness.

"Only for you", he answered her and kissed her again. A bit more forceful and passionate this time though.

"Mmh, Mulder", Scully moaned making him even more passionate.

They walked slowly towards the bed before landing on it. Mulder was lying on top and started kissing her neck.

"We can't Mulder. We have the house filled with people!" Scully tried to reason.

"I know", he simply answered her stopping his kisses. He looked into her eyes.

They began to smile and then they kissed again. Mulder rolled onto his back and then Scully pulled her sweater off, exposing her red bra. She began undoing his buttons on his shirt while he undid her pants. He listed his hands onto her hips and pulled her even closer to him. She moaned at the contact and as she had finished with his shirt she ran her hands over his chest.

Suddenly the door went up and in came Maggie Scully. "Dana, are you in… Oh my God! I am so sorry! I am gonna go again! I am so sorry…" she ranted on as she left the room.

"I can't believe it! My mom just walked in on me!" Scully exclaimed but couldn't stop laughing.

"Well, that's going to be embarrassing", Mulder laughed as well.

They got up from the bed and tucked their clothes back in where it belonged. Then they gave each other a little kiss before joining everyone in the living room.

Just before Charlie was about to open his mouth and say something, someone knocked on the door. Mulder and Scully both went to answer, to hide from the embarrassment a few minutes longer. Mulder opened the door, surprised to see the man standing behind it.

"Agent Roberts?" Scully questioned him. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

_Please review :) That makes me one happy and inspirered writer! _


	11. An engagement party xfiles style

_I hope you are gonna like this chapter. There is some new elements in it, which I don't really have a lot of experience writing about, so let me know if it's working. _

* * *

Chapter 11 – An engagement party x-files style

"_Agent Roberts?" Scully questioned him. "What are you doing here?"_

"I need your help!" he exclaimed looking straight into Scully's eyes.

"What makes you think _we_ are going to help _you_?" Mulder asked him not seeing the desperation and grief in his eyes as Scully did.

"They have my daughter…" he almost whispered looking down. "They have my Zoe!"

Tears formed in his eyes and he started to hyperventilate. Mulder and Scully dragged him into the hallway and closed the door behind them to their apartment. They sat Agent Roberts down with his back against the wall. His breathing calmed down after a few minutes.

"Tell us what we can do to help", Scully told him, seeing the same desperation she had felt earlier that day, when she had feared losing her own child.

"I don't know what to say. I don't even know how you can help. But I didn't know of any others who would be able to help me. I can't ask the other agents. These people… you have to have fought true evil to understand."

Mulder and Scully looked worried at each other. But Roberts continued his rambling.

"I know I give you a hard time. But truth is I believe in your work. I believe in what you do."

"Where is your daughter?" Mulder asked him pushing him to get to the point.

"I have been working for some bad people. It started a few years ago. I never meant to become one of them, but I needed the money. My wife was very sick. She was hospitalized and they did everything they could to cure her. But if I didn't pay a large sum of money they couldn't perform the operation, which could save her life. The bastards came to the hospital. They told me they would give me the money, if I worked for them in return. I didn't trust them. But they were my only option at the time. So I played detective. I investigated some buildings, took pictures at the people who came, and at the ones who exchanged money and papers. I don't know what it was about. I never know what it is about. A few weeks later my wife past away. I had used every penny I had on her hospital bills. I was about to lose my home, and my daughter. The men showed up again. They had a new job for me. A job that paid even better. Since then I have been working for them. They have paid my house, my car, Zoe's kindergarten, my wife's funeral."

Roberts took a deep unsteady breath. Mulder and Scully was speechless.

"Some weeks ago they told me I had to mess with you, Mulder. For the first time, I asked questions. Why, I asked them. They looked at me as if I were insane. They told me I didn't need to concern myself with that. As long as I did my job, I didn't need to concern about my daughter's health. So I did some research. Found out about Scully's boyfriend."

Scully looked worried at Mulder. He hadn't told her how Roberts thought she was going out with some Marvin Dean from VCS. He gave her a look that said not to worry, and that he would explain later.

"Then I tried to provoke you that Saturday. But it didn't work. My job was to get into a fight with you. And when I couldn't do that they told me to kill you. I said I wouldn't do it, they have never asked me to kill for them before. I said that they could have their money back. But they started threatening me about Zoe again. So I said I would do it. When I got home I started packing; clothes for Zoe, some of her toys, clothes for me, and the old photo albums. I picked up Zoe at her friend's house. And then I drove out of the city. I was heading towards Annapolis. My wife's sister lives there. But as soon as I had left the city four black range rovers were following us. I knew it was them. I tried to evade but I couldn't, and I knew they had guns. I couldn't risk Zoe's life. So I parked at the side of the road. I told Zoe to stay in the car and I walked out with my arms in the air. They walked towards me in a fast pace. I backed away and told them to calm down but before I knew it they had knocked me out. When I woke up I was back in my house. Zoe wasn't there. I finally found a video tape on the table in the living room. I pushed it into the machine and pressed play. I can't describe what I felt when I watched it. There were two men, some of the guys I used to work for. Zoe was sitting in a chair between them. She was tied on her hands and feet, and her mouth was duct taped. The men said I had to kill the two of you if I wanted my daughter alive."

Now Roberts broke down crying again. It took him a few minutes to form the next sentence.

"They followed me when I left the house. I knew they would. But as soon as I got into the city I evaded them quickly, and came here. I don't know what to do", he cried.

"Don't worry, Roberts. Scully and I are gonna help you. Tell us the place you usually met with these people, and then go home. Pretend you are getting ready to kill us. Don't let them question what you are doing. When you can't extend it any longer head for my apartment. I will give you a key, and then just stay there till we come get you. But be armed all time. And trust no one, besides Scully and me."

* * *

Mulder and Scully had left their own engagement party. They said it was because of work, but of course that wasn't the entire truth. They didn't have many leads to follow. Only one lead actually. They parked a few streets from the empty warehouse, Roberts had told them about. They walked in a fast pace towards their goal. When they could see the warehouse they started walking slower and more careful though.

"There are lights on", Scully stated pointing at the windows in the back of the building.

"Yes", Mulder said and studied the warehouse. "Let's go in at this end. It's dark so there will probably not be anyone. Then we will walk towards the other end of the building."

"And if there is someone in the dark?" Scully asked pointing out the flaws in his plan (as usual).

Mulder thought about it a few seconds. "I walk in front, and you stay right behind. And keep your hand on your gun!"

Scully nodded. She thought about what she had been doing a half hour earlier. Mulder and she had been kissing in her bedroom. It seemed like weeks ago now.

Mulder crawled into the building through a window with no glass in. He held his gun up, and tried to see in the dark. His eyes finally got use to the dark a bit. It didn't seem like there was anyone in there. He put his gun back in its holster and helped Scully in through the window as well. He let them through the dark room, her holding onto his jacket. They came to a door. There was no way of knowing what would be on the other side.

"What do we do now?" Scully asked holding onto Mulder's jacket still.

Mulder put his ear on the door, and Scully did the same. They couldn't hear a thing.

"What do you think, Scully?" Mulder asked her.

"Let's do it", she said.

Mulder slowly opened the big door. It screeched a bit, but fortunately there was no one in this room either. At the end of the room though, was another door. And it was evident that in the room behind the door there were lights on. It lit up cracks of the door and some of the room they were in. They looked at each other quickly and then walked towards the door. They began to hear muffled voices as they walked towards it. When they were right in front of it, they could clearly hear what was being discussed.

"What's his twenty?" a dark voice asked.

"He is at home now, sir. It appears, as if he is getting ready to do the job", someone informed him.

"Good. Keep tailing him. And keep informing me!" the dark voice said.

"Yes, sir."

"Is the girl still sleeping?"

"Yes, sir. But we will need to move her soon. It's too dangerous to keep her there, sir."

"I know, Hastings", the dark voice agreed and thought for a moment. "Bring her here!"

"Here? But Roberts knows about this place!" another strange voice disagreed.

"Roberts is sticking to the plan so far. And if he escapes again we will move her. Even if he did come here, I am sure it would be worst for him. And even worse for the girl", the dark voice said smugly gaining some chuckling from the other muffled voices.

Mulder and Scully looked hateful at the door. They contained their rage and sat down by the wall next to the big door.

"Let's just wait for them to bring her to us. She can't be that far away", Mulder whispered.

Scully nodded. "But what will we do when she's here? What's the plan?" she whispered back questioning.

"I am yet to figure that out myself", Mulder sighed. "She will be guarded of course. The only thing I can think of is some kind of diversion."

"No!" Scully said a bit louder than intended grapping Mulder's arm. "Nothing like that, Mulder!"

"I have to, Scully", Mulder told her honest looking down. "I love you."

"If you love me you won't do it!" Scully whispered harsh grapping his arm even tighter. "What about Elias?"

"I won't die, Scully!"

"You don't know that, Mulder. I know for sure these men won't hesitate, if they have a clear shot at an intruder!"

"But the girl…"

"No, Mulder! We will stay here. If the girl is in trouble we will break through the door and shoot every single one of them. Not sooner! And if there is even the smallest opportunity, I promise you we will try and get her out of there. But we do it together!"

"All right, Scully", Mulder sighed and smiled at her cupping her cheek. "Just know this; whatever happens tonight, I love you. And I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you."

"Good, Mulder", she smiled back.

They heard a car park in front of the building. Someone yelled; "The girl is here!"

"Come on, Scully", Mulder said.

Mulder and Scully walked towards another door in the same wall as the one with the lights behind it. In the room behind the door there were windows. It allowed them to see what was going on in the lit room. But the mysterious men wouldn't be able to see them, because they were in the dark.

"There she is", Scully whispered as she eyed Zoe on a chair in the corner next to the door they had been listening to moments earlier.

There were 8 men sitting around a round conference table. They were all wearing boring grey and black suits. Another two men stood by the door leading out of the building. These were wearing suits as well but were build rather different. Typical bodyguard types. They both had nasty looking Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns, and they were ready to use them. The other men didn't appear to bear arms though. Mulder thought about just walking in there and shooting the bodyguards, but he knew Scully wouldn't go for that.

"All right, Scully, here is what we gotta do: I take the man with the blue tie hostage. I get everybody to focus on me. Then you take Zoe and head for our car", Mulder told her.

"How will you get away?"

"I keep blue-tie my hostage and get into one of their cars. They won't shoot me when I got him, I think he is the boss", he told her.

Scully had observed that blue-tie was the man with the dark voice from earlier, and she, as Mulder, believed him to be their boss as well.

"Just promise me you will be careful, Mulder! I love you!"

"I promise", he said and kissed her forehead tenderly. "Just stay by the car with Zoe. And if someone follows you flee."

"Yes", she nodded and kissed his forehead in return.

* * *

There was a knock on the door by Zoe. The mysterious men looked at one another with fear evident in their eyes.

"Hugo!" blue-tie yelled at one of the bodyguards. "Go check it out!"

"Yes, sir", Hugo answered and went for the door.

When he opened it he couldn't see anyone. He looked back at the bosses and their eyes told him to search the room. He slowly walked in with his gun ready to fire. Suddenly someone wacked him over the head though. Hugo didn't get up.

"Hugo?" blue-tie yelled into the room from his seat as he had heard the thud.

"Gavin! See what's happening!" he told the other bodyguard.

Gavin walked towards the door. But when he stepped into the room someone shot him in the shoulder with Hugo's gun. Gavin fell to the floor and dropped his own gun. Mulder kicked it away as he stepped into the room, revealing who he was. One of the mysterious men was about to dial something on his phone, but Mulder pointed the weapon at him and said; "I would drop that phone if I was you!"

And so he did. All eight men were standing with their hands in the air.

"What do you want, Agent Mulder?" someone with a red tie asked him, letting him know they knew who he was.

"You there! With the blue tie, get over here!" Mulder yelled.

Blue-tie pointed questioning at himself.

"Yes, you!" Mulder yelled impatient taking a step towards them.

Blue-tie walked slowly towards him. When he got in Mulder's reach, Mulder grabbed him towards himself and held the gun to his head.

"If one of you as much as move without me telling you to, I am gonna shoot his brains out!" Mulder warned them.

Everyone looked frightened. And he could feel blue-tie tense as well.

"Which one of you has keys to the van outside?" Mulder asked them, but no one answered him.

"Which one?" he yelled pressing the gun harder to blue-tie's temple.

"I have them", one of them said nervous.

"Fine. Slowly get them up from your pocket!" Mulder ordered.

The man took them from his pocket in slow motion and held them up.

"Throw them over here!" Mulder told him, and he did as said.

The keys landed right in front of Mulder and blue-tie.

"Now pick them up for me, blue-tie!" Mulder told him holding the gun to his head the whole time.

He picked them up and Mulder snatched them from his hand and started moving sideways towards the door leading outside. He had to turn the mysterious men's attention away from Zoe so Scully could take her.

As Mulder was close to the door something creaked under his feet. He looked down haste and saw a hatch in the floor. It was covered by dust but only barely.

"Hey, red-tie! Get over here and open that hatch in the floor!" he yelled.

The man with the red tie did as told. Mulder saw it was kind of a secret hideout.

"Get down there", he ordered red-tie.

While he ordered the mysterious men down there one at a time, he saw Scully coming in, in the other end of the room and taking Zoe. He knew blue-tie saw it as well so he whispered to him; "If you say anything you'll be dead on the spot!"

Soon all the men were down there, except blue-tie. Mulder had had them leave their phones on the ground so they wouldn't be able to call anyone from the hideout.

"Lock the hatch!" he ordered blue-tie, who did as told. There was no way they could get up now.

Mulder took his handcuff and cuffed blue-tie. He took him outside and sat him in the back of the van, where they had probably held Zoe.

Then he drove towards Scully. He hoped she would be waiting by the car. That would mean no one had followed her. Luckily she was.

Mulder put blue-tie into the trunk. And got in the car, leaving the van behind.

"Scully!" he said and kissed her gently on the mouth.

Then he looked to the backseat.

"Hi, Zoe", he said sweet. "Are you okay?"

She nodded but kept her head down.

"She is a bit scared right now. But I think she's gonna be okay", Scully told him.

"Where is my daddy?" Zoe asked them sad. "I want my daddy!"

"We are going to see him now, Zoe. He is waiting for us", Mulder told her.

This got her attention. She looked into Mulder's eyes with her beautiful hazel ones.

"Are we really?" she asked them.

"Yes, Zoe. We got away from the bad guys! Now we just have to find your daddy", Mulder told her and started driving towards his apartment, where Roberts were supposed to be.

Scully and Zoe got off by the hospital. Zoe would need to be checked and Scully would call the police there.

When Mulder was close to his apartment he saw a black range rover parked in front of the building. 'Real settle' he thought to himself and parked far behind them. He got blue-tie out of the trunk and started walking towards the range rover.

"What are you doing?" blue-tie asked him.

Mulder didn't answer him though, he just kept walking.

"You won't get away with this! I have thirty-five men working for me, and twelve of them are trained agents, fourteen could kick your ass from here and to Canada, and the rest of them could hide the fact that you were ever born in a matter of days", he warned him.

"That's nice of you to tell me, but save it for the judge!" Mulder told him and twisted his arm a little.

Now he was standing behind the black car. He shot the back tires flat, which made the two bodyguard looking guys in the car come out.

"Hey, what the…" he shut up as soon as he saw his boss with a gun to his temple and lowered his own similar gun.

"Both of you slowly put your gun down, if you don't want me to pull the trigger!" Mulder warned them.

They did as told and kicked the guns away. Then they lay down on their stomachs as Mulder told them to. The police came driving towards them with sirens on. There were four patrol cars. They arrested the two bodyguards and blue-tie. Mulder told them about the other men he knew where were and they called for more backup and then went to the abandoned warehouse to arrest them.

Mulder ran to his apartment. He opened the door and was met by a nervous Roberts pointing a gun at him.

"Wow, Roberts. It's me", Mulder told him holding his hands up.

"Oh, thank God, Mulder!" he sighed and lowered his gun. "Please, tell me she's alright? Tell me you found her?"

"We got her Roberts!" Mulder said happy and smiled at him. "She's safe now."

* * *

"Oh, Zoe, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Roberts asked his daughter as he kneeled by her hospital bed.

"Is okay, daddy. Elias' mom saved me from the bad guys", she told her dad smiling.

"I love you, Zoe", he told his daughter honest and kissed her cheek.

"I love daddy too", Zoe said and locked her arms around his neck in a hug.

Mulder and Scully closed the door and waited in the hallway. They didn't want to intrude the father-daughter moment.

"So what happened?" Scully asked.

"Well, that man in the blue tie turns out to be one Ulrich Larding. He is wanted for being involved in more than forty hits, several cases of disturbing the privacy and for being the key figure in an illegal organization called; The Retaliators. The organization gets paid for doing all kinds of illegal favors for rich guys who are afraid to do it themselves. They were paid by Mr. Quinn to make Elias theirs", Mulder told her. "That's why they wanted us dead."

"I can't believe this", Scully said shaking her head in disbelief.

"I know. I felt the same way", Mulder told her rubbing her back.

"I am really glad Elias didn't have to get involved in this. Imagine if they had kidnapped him", Scully wondered out loud but relaxing into Mulder's backrub.

"I am glad Quinn is going to be put away for a long time", he said, letting his hands stop their work on Scully's back. "He must be insane to think he could get away with paying for the hit on two FBI agents."

"Don't stop, Mulder!" Scully told him referring to his hands that lay still on her back now. "It felt good."

"Oh", Mulder said moving his hands over her tensed back once again. "I never knew you liked massages."

"I never did before", she told him honest. She had never really liked someone rubbing her back or shoulders. It had always made her even tenser. "It's different with you, I guess."

"We should do this more often then", he whispered close to her ear. "But next time with no clothes on."

"Mmh, I would like that", Scully whispered back.

Mulder kept his face close to her neck while sitting almost sideways in his chair massaging her back and shoulders.

"So… Elias is with your mom tonight, right?" Mulder whispered again.

"Yeah?" Scully answered knowing where this was going.

"Then maybe we should celebrate our engagement?" Mulder said and kissed her neck lightly.

"I like that idea", Scully told him seductively and kissed him gently on the mouth.

"Good", Mulder said and kissed her a bit more passionate.

They stopped kissing as an older nurse walked by them. She looked at them as though they were two teens misbehaving. They just laughed together.

Just as they were sitting with their heads close chuckling they heard a door slam behind them. They looked up behind them and saw Roberts looking at them.

"What are you doing?" he asked them frowning.

"Nothing", Mulder said and got up from the chair, while Scully did the same. "I think we are going home now though, Roberts. It's getting late."

"Ehm… yeah, okay", Roberts said still frowning.

"Bye, Roberts. Say hi to Zoe for me", Scully said.

Mulder and Scully walked down the hallway leaving Roberts a little confused. Of course they couldn't tell him. Maybe if they became friends with him one day, they could. But for now they had to be careful who they told.

"So… do you think he knows?" Mulder asked Scully as they sat in the car in the parking lot by the hospital.

"I don't know. He has been spreading so many rumors about us that I don't think he can believe any of them to be real", she said.

"Maybe not", Mulder concluded. "So you wanna get home and start the celebration", he asked her wiggling his eyebrows.

Scully had to laugh at him. He was so irresistible. "Oh, Mulder", she said shaking her head at him. "I can't wait to celebrate."

"Me neither", he told her and began kissing her.

He let his soft lips drift over hers. He caressed her lower lip carefully with his tongue. She tasted like nothing else. Like Scully, nothing compared to it. He opened his mouth, and she did the same, allowing him to slip his tongue into her mouth. She moaned into their kiss, getting him to become even more enthusiastic. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him. She reached down and pressed a button, sliding the seat further back in the car, expanding their space.

"You sure you don't wanna wait?" Mulder asked her between kissing her neck.

"I can't", she told him moving her hips against his waist gaining a groan from him.

"Oh, dear God, me neither", he declared capturing her lips once again.

Suddenly someone knocked on the window and said; "Agents?" in a firm voice.

"Ehm, yeah?" Mulder answered not stopping kissing Scully; nobody could see them anyway, due to the fogged windows.

"You forgot your jacket, Mulder", Roberts told him.

"Just a second", Mulder sighed annoyed.

Scully sat back in the passenger's seat and Mulder drove the seat back into place. Then he opened the window.

"Oh, thank you, Agent Roberts", he said and took the jacket and threw it to the backseat.

"So the rumors are true after all?" Roberts said smiling.

"I am sure I don't know what you are talking about", Mulder smiled back.

"No, of course not. See you at work, agents", Roberts said and waved at them as they drove off.

"Do you think he will tell anyone?" Scully asked a bit concerned.

"He has been for years, Scully", Mulder laughed.

Scully laughed as well. The whole situation was kind of ironic. Soon they were home in good old apartment 35. The place was kind of a mess from the party. Maggie had left them a note on the kitchen counter saying;

"_I am sorry you had to work. I will bring back Elias in the morning as soon as we wake up. He says to tell you he loves you. I am sorry I haven't cleaned up, but Elias is tired so we are heading straight for my place. I will help you clean in the morning though.  
Love M."_

"I guess we have all night then", Scully said wrapping her arms around Mulder's middle.

"Good! We are gonna need it!" he said huskily and lifted her up on the counter and began kissing her neck.

* * *

When Maggie and Elias entered the apartment everything was very quiet. And everything was an even bigger mess than when they had left the night before. Most of the stuff on the kitchen counters had been knocked down. Several of the paintings on the walls were hanging very crooked. And the couch was several meters from its usual place. Clothes were spread all over the kitchen and the living room floor.

"Let's go again, Elias", Maggie said knowing what had been going on. "They are probably still sleeping."

"But I want mom", Elias said sad. "I miss her."

"We will be back later", Maggie told him comforting but it didn't help.

"I will go wake her", he exclaimed and ran for the bedroom.

"Elias! No!" Maggie said and ran after him.

But it was too late. He had already opened the door to the bedroom. Mulder and Scully were lying naked in the bed only wearing a duvet. Scully was lying on her back, while Mulder was lying on his stomach, half on top of her, with his nose touching her cheek and his arm around her, hiding her breast. Maggie hurried and closed the door.

"Let's make them breakfast", Maggie told Elias.

"Okay", Elias sighed. "But only if it's pancakes", he smiled.

"Alright", Maggie laughed.

* * *

_Please review and let me know what you think :) _


	12. Truly happy

Chapter 12 – Truly happy

When Mulder woke up he had never felt happier. He was laying half on top of the love of his life – his fiancée. They had the greatest kid, he could ever imagine. And someone was running her small hand from his shoulder and down his arm.

"Good morning, Mrs. Mulder", he whispered to her and kissed her neck.

"Good morning, Mr. Scully", she giggled back at him.

He chuckled a bit himself. He moved over her, so he was covering her tiny body with his. He continued his kisses down her neck. He tried to fight it, but he almost couldn't anymore. Finally he had to give into his need. His need to pee.

"I am sorry, Scully, but I really need to pee!" he apologized as he stopped kissing her.

"You are so romantic, my love", she said sarcastic, giggling again.

"Oh, I know!" he kidded and moved up from the bed.

He pulled his boxers on, out of pure habit. He was so use to Elias being in the apartment, being in his life. Therefore he never leaved the bedroom without at least his boxers on. Then he tiptoed his way to the bathroom across the hall from the bedroom. As he had finished his business in the bathroom and he was on his way back to the bedroom, back to Scully, he heard the unmistakable voice of Margaret Scully address him.

"Good morning, dear", she said making him turn on his heels in surprise.

"Mrs. Scully?" he asked questioning. "What are you doing here?"

"Elias wanted to go home. You weren't up yet, so we decided to make breakfast", she told him.

"Oh!" was all he could say.

His mind kept thinking about the mess they had made in the living room and in the kitchen. He couldn't help but blush a bit at the mere thought of it. Just as Maggie was about to break the awkward silence that had emerged between them, Scully came out of the bedroom in Mulder's dress shirt. As Mulder was standing right in front of the door, she didn't even notice her mother, and threw her arms around Mulder's neck.

"What's taking you so long? You can't leave me wanting you so bad, it's not playing fair!" she pouted, as she played with his hair and moved slowly closer to his mouth with hers.

Mulder was lost for words. What he felt was a mixture of lust and embarrassment on Scully's behave. He luckily didn't have to say anything though.

"Good morning, Dana!" Maggie said, pretending not to have heard what she just said.

"Mom?" Scully said with her eyes wide in shock.

"Breakfast is ready in five minutes", and with that she left them alone and embarrassed.

"Well that wasn't uncomfortable at all!" Scully uttered, cheeks red and hiding herself by Mulder's chest.

"Not at all", Mulder chuckled and hugged her tight.

They soon realized it would be nice to have a change of clothes, so Scully discarded herself of Mulder's shirt and put on a pair of jeans and a light blue sweater. Mulder threw on a pair of jeans himself and a beige turtleneck he hadn't worn in ages, but kept at Scully's, as some of his backup clothing. As he had pulled it over his head Scully gave him a perplexed look.

"You don't like it?" he asked her tugging at the hem of the turtleneck.

"Yeah I do!" she said blushing. "I like it a lot!"

"Ohh…" he teased her. "You think I am hot in it!"

"No!" she laughed. "Alright, maybe a little…" she then admitted blushing.

"We better go get some breakfast. It would be rather embarrassing if your mom had to walk in on us again!" Mulder kidded.

Scully took his hand and they walked to the kitchen where Elias immediately ran and gave Scully the biggest hug.

"I've missed you mom!" he said as she hugged him tight.

Mulder couldn't help the big grin on his face. His fiancée and his son. It was the most beautiful sight he could imagine.

"Oh, I missed you too little man", Scully told him as she sat him down.

"Hey there", Mulder greeted Elias as he messed his hair up chuckling while Elias tried to get him to stop.

"You really didn't have to clean the place up!" Scully told her mom. "It was quite a party!"

"It sure was a mess", Maggie laughed, making Scully realize she already knew what had happened to make it an even bigger mess than it already were.

"Mom?" Elias asked from his seat next to Mulder at the table.

"Yeah, hon?" Scully asked back, busy doing some of the dishes.

"Why did you sleep naked?" he asked innocent, making Scully drop the plate she was holding down in the sink.

"I am sorry", Maggie said before Scully could form a prober sentence. "He ran into the bedroom before I had a chance to stop him. You were asleep and…"

"Don't worry!" Scully told her mom. "It was just so hot in the room last night that we had to take our clothes off."

"Were you trying to make a baby?" Elias asked with a curious face.

"What? Why do you think that?" Mulder asked him shocked.

"Bryan said that once his parents slept naked, they told him they were trying to make a baby", he explained.

"Oh. Well, we weren't trying to do that", Mulder said.

"How can you make a baby by sleeping naked?" Elias asked.

"Well you have to do other stuff too", Mulder began. "There are some… things you do, like kissing, and sometimes that makes babies."

"So you have to be naked and you have to kiss?" Elias asked still confused.

"Yeah… and other things happen too. Grownup things", Mulder told him.

"What things?" Elias asked.

"You don't have to worry about that young man!" Scully cut in.

"How do you know you didn't make a baby by accident?" Elias asked.

Scully walked over and sat down next to Elias. She fixed his hair and took a deep breath.

"Because mom can't have children", she told him.

"Why not?" Elias asked sad.

"One time something bad happened and it ruined something inside mom's stomach", she told him.

"Where the baby lives?" he asked her frowning.

"Yes. Once mom was very sad about it and she cried for a long time", Scully told him. "But then she got a son. He was the funniest and cutest kid in the whole world and it made mom forget all about crying."

"I made you happy?" Elias asked her in disbelief.

"You made me very happy", she said and kissed his forehead.

Mulder leaned over Elias and gave Scully a gentle kiss.

"What about you?" Elias asked Mulder. "Can you make babies alone?"

"No-oh", Mulder laughed. "That takes two!"

"But… who will you make babies with then?"

"Well, I have you, Elias", he told him. "And I have Scully. I never want to make babies with anyone else than her."

"So I can call you dad if I want to?" Elias asked looking down.

"That would make me very happy if you wanted to do that", Mulder answered him truthfully.

"I love you", Elias told him and gave him a big hug.

"And I love you", Mulder told him as he placed Elias in his lap, not caring that he was too big to sit there.

"Alright, I think breakfast is ready", Maggie said as she had witnessed the little family scene work out.

And they all sat down and ate their breakfast, as their hearts were filled with a new joy and happiness. One that came from being a family. One that came from no longer having to worry about whether being taken away by some douchebag uncle. One that came from knowing the one you love truly loves you back. Simply one that came from having it all and more. From being truly happy.

(-)

_Alright, I am not really sure about this chapter. I am sorry if you don't like it, I certainly have my doubts about it. Now there is only one chapter back of this story. I have it figured all out already. I have to warn you, it might be a little sad, but I also promise you, it's gonna be the perfect ending, and if you have liked this story so far, you are definitely gonna love it! _

_Please review and I'll try to update the last chapter soon :) _

_Oh, and have a great New Year's Eve! ;) Don't get too drunk! _


	13. Losing Fox Mulder

Chapter 13 – Losing Fox Mulder

"Are you a happy baby? Are you a happy baby?" Dana Scully asked the little boy who was giggling in her lap as she tickled him. "Of course you're a happy baby. Because mommy loves you", she emphasized with a kiss on his cheek. "And you have a big brother who loves you", she said and smiled at Elias who was holding the baby's hand. "But where's daddy? Is he still at work?" she sighed.

"When is dad gonna come home?" Elias asked at the mention of his father.

"He should have been here already. I guess we'll just have to eat without him. Are you in the mood for some mac and cheese?" she smirked at Elias, knowing it was his favorite.

"Yes", he exclaimed happy, startling the baby who was just about to fall asleep.

"Not so loud, Elias", Scully chuckled.

"Sorry, mom", the boy said apologetic. "I am sorry, baby", he told the infant and kissed his chubby little cheek.

"Can you set the table while I put William to sleep?" Scully smiled at Elias.

"Okay. For two or three?"

"Set if for three", she said as she stood up with her baby in her arms. "Dad will be home soon."

Elias did as Scully had ordered him to, and waited patiently for his mother to come back out from his parents' bedroom, so she could take the hot food from the oven. Finally she came and dinner was served.

"T'is good, mom!" he complimented her with his mouth full of macaroni.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth, honey", she told him, and was reminded of Mulder, who still talked with food in his mouth at times. She sighed audible. When was he gonna come home?

"Do you miss dad?" Elias asked her as he had chewed and swallowed his food.

"A little", she confessed as she ran her hand through his dark hair. It was getting a little long, she would have to cut it again soon, she thought.

"Maybe he's been called to Mr. Skinner's office?" Elias suggested.

"Why do you think that?"

"Like that one time I got called to the principal's office. Maybe dad has been naughty like I was. You always say he doesn't follow the rules enough."

"Your dad sure has a tendency to be naughty", she said chuckling and thought of his work as well as when he was home.

Scully still wasn't too keen on Mulder working on the X-files without her. But after she left the X-files for her maternity leave, both she and Mulder had agreed it was probably best if she didn't return. She had returned to teaching at Quantico a couple of weeks ago, and she was happy there. It wasn't as interesting as working in the field with Mulder but it was more practical, especially with the baby. And now Mulder had a new partner. At first he hadn't liked him at all. He had said he was even harder to get to believe than Scully. Mulder had softened up to him a bit though after he saved his life a couple of times. And Scully, who had been very grateful as well, had sent a 'Thank you'-card to this Special Agent John Doggett every time.

"Mom, can I throw a party for my friends?" Elias asked, making Scully focus on the present.

"A party? You mean, a birthday party?" she asked smiling.

"Yep", he smiled a toothless smile back at her.

Scully couldn't help smiling herself. "I can't believe you're 10 already", she sighed. "You're growing up too fast, Elias!"

"I am sorry", he laughed. "Do you think I'll ever be as tall as dad?"

"You might even grow up to be taller than him", she smiled as she saw the sparkle in his eyes.

"Do you really think so?"

"Maybe. If you eat your vegetables."

He thought hard about this for a little while before remembering what his original question was.

"So about the birthday party: How many people can I invite?"

"I don't know", Scully chuckled. "How many were you thinking?"

"Hmm", he counted everyone he would like to invite in his head. "Maybe ten? Or fifteen?"

"Tomorrow you can make a list with the kids you would like to invite, how's that?"

"Okay", he smiled.

They went back their food again. Elias was already on his second time, while Scully just sort of picked at the food with her fork. She kept wondering what was taking Mulder so long. He usually called if he was gonna be home later. Should she call him? She would wait till after dinner at least. He was probably gonna walk in the door any second now, and she was gonna feel ridiculous for worrying.

"Are you not hungry, mom?" Elias asked sweetly, pointing to her full plate of mac and cheese.

"No", she smiled vague at him. "I had a big lunch."

"Dad says it's important you eat, so you can make booby milk to the baby."

"Booby milk?" she chuckled. "It's called breast milk, Elias!"

"Dad calls it booby milk", Elias chuckled. "Has dad tasted your booby milk?" he wondered.

"No, Elias!" Scully lied, feeling her cheeks go red. "Breast milk is for babies. Why do you think that?"

"I asked why babies couldn't just have normal milk, and dad said it was because booby milk is different than normal milk, and that normal milk is very bad for babies. And then I asked him if booby milk tastes different than normal milk, and he said that it tasted more sweet, and sometimes you could taste what the mom has been eating and drinking. Is that right?"

"Yeah, that's right", Scully smiled. Mulder had really explained that one well… or at least better than usual. He could have stayed clear of the phrase; booby milk.

"But how does dad know how it tastes then?" Elias asked frowning.

"Your dad and I read it in a book before William was born", she told him, which was true. She just didn't include the fact that Mulder had insisted on testing if the breast milk would taste like Oreos with milk if Scully ate them. And then insisted that Oreo should change its motto from 'Twist, Lick, Dunk' to 'Get pregnant, Eat, Drink'.

Elias and Scully finished their dinner in peace. Scully couldn't help looking at the door, expecting Mulder to come walking through it smiling any second, and tell her all about what a crappy day he had had at work. Then he would kiss her. Passionately. And then mess with Elias' hair teasingly, before going to their bedroom to say hello to his little baby boy. He would eat some of the food Scully had prepared, and compliment her on her good work. He would insist on helping her with the dishes, even though she would tell him she could manage on her own. When Elias asked him for help with the last of his homework, he would happily help him, even though he would know Elias could very well do them himself, and that he only saved a couple of pages to spend some time with his father. He would praise Elias' good work, and give him a hug before telling him to brush his teeth and go to bed. He would probably get a little work done after tugging Elias in. But the second Scully would sit down on the couch and open her blouse to feed the baby, he would stop work. For a second he would just sit in his work chair, but eventually he would give in and sit down next to Scully on the couch and watch her feed their baby. Their miracle. Once the baby had eaten and been burped, he would sit with him in his arms, and just look at him until he fell asleep. And once the baby was asleep he would kiss its forehead gently before walking to the bedroom to put him down. He would return to the living room after watching the baby sleep for a couple of minutes, and checking on Elias. And once he would return, all his focus would be on Scully. On her mouth, her neck, her breasts, her whole body. Maybe she would straddle his lap. He liked it when she was on top. He would kiss her neck while she moved on top of him, and he wouldn't reach his climax before she reached hers. He never did. No matter how hard he might want to. After they gained their breath, they would check on the kids once again before going to bed cuddled up to each other. She would be wearing the dress shirt he had worn whole day, and he would be wearing his boxers. They would whisper about how their day had been, so they didn't wake the baby, and right before they fell asleep, he would thank her for his happiness, for her unconditional love to him, and for giving him a life worth living. He would kiss her gently before they finally slept.

That was how the nights usually went on. But not this night. This night Scully got a phone call.

"I am so sorry, Scully!" Skinner's voice had told her as she answered the phone.

"Where is he?" Scully asked, feeling her heart stuck in her throat.

"Sibley Memorial", Skinner said still sounding sad. "They're still operating on him but…"

"I'll be there as soon as I have called my mother", Scully said and hung up.

"What is it, mom?" Elias asked sensing that something was wrong.

"It's dad, Elias", Scully said honest, trying hard not to shed any tears. "He's been hurt so mom has to go to him while grandma watches you and your brother", she told him as she dialed the familiar number.

Scully prepared some bottles for William while Maggie was on her way. Finally Maggie came and Scully made the short drive from their apartment in Georgetown, their little home, to Sibley Memorial Hospital. She was about to ask the receptionist of the location of her husband as John Doggett saw her and walked her to the door outside the room where they were performing the operation.

"He was shot?" Scully asked Doggett after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes", Doggett confirmed.

He was sitting on a chair at the opposite side of the hall than her. She leaned back in her own chair and pretended that Mulder had come home tonight instead of this. They would be doing the dishes right now. Together. He would be smiling and teasing her, maybe kiss her neck and refuse to stop until she told him how much she loves him. He would be chuckling and smirking. Not cut open and lifeless.

"Twice in the stomach and once in the neck", Doggett said, reluctant to reveal the nasty details. "We tracked our culprit to Washington National Cathedral. He was a choir singer and we knew they were rehearsing this afternoon. We weren't even sure if he had committed the murders, all the victims had been killed in different ways. The only common denominator seemed to be this boy and the fact that all the weapons were made out of metal. Mulder had a crazy theory about the boy being some kind of reformer. I thought it sounded stupid but in that church… I swear, one second the boy was reaching out for the huge cross hanging from his neck and the next second the cross was gone and he was holding a gun. I didn't even register what was happening but Mulder had already drawn his gun. He had the boy in his aim right before the boy fired but he didn't take the shot. The other choir singers were too close. Some of them were children. As he fell I finally reacted. The boy was about to shoot me as well but the entire choir was on the ground now and I shot him first", Doggett explained while looking to the floor.

The tears started falling down Scully's cheeks as Doggett told her the story. She let them fall.

"I am so sorry, Dana", Doggett told her his own eyes moist. "He seemed so happy. I usually don't agree with Mulder but, nonetheless, I look forward to go to work every day. He was talking about how fast Elias was growing up on our way to the church. He's turning 10 next month?"

"Yes", she sobbed, wondering if Mulder was gonna miss their son's big day. He might never get to help him with his homework again, never get teach him how to play basketball as he had promised him. He might never hear William's first words, see him take his first step, comfort him when he would fall and scrape his knee. He might never hold her in his arms again, declare his love to her, kiss her, and make love to her. She felt her heart strain at the thought of losing him. She had loved to work with him. It had been interesting. But she realized now that she hated the X-files. She hated the paranormal. She had never loved her work, she had loved him. She hadn't followed leads, she had followed him. Without the X-files, without paranormal occurrences, Mulder would never have had to risk his life. Not to that extent any way. Without the X-files she wouldn't be sitting in a hospital chair, hoping Mulder would survive. She would be with him, and feel just how alive he was.

"Mrs. Mulder?" a man in scrubs asked her.

"Yes", she said standing up.

"I am Dr. Philmore", he told her and extended his hand to her.

"Is he okay?" she asked, shaking his hand quickly.

"Your husband is gonna be fine", he smiled to her. "He was very lucky the bullets missed any vital organs and arteries. We managed to remove all three bullets. He might have to take it easy for a while but he should be okay, and eventually recover fully."

Scully broke down in the chair crying into her hands.

"He's gonna be okay, Dana", Doggett told her, a hand on her shoulder.

"I-I-I kn-know", she sobbed uncontrollably. "Ju-just so re-relieved!"

The doctor and the agent shared a smile, both truly happy that Dana Scully was going to see her husband again.

Once Scully's tears had subsided she called her mother to tell her the good news. Elias wanted to talk to her as well. The little guy had been crying all night and was so happy he was going to see his dad again.

"In a couple of days you can see him at the hospital", Scully had told him.

"Why can't I come over there now?" he had asked eagerly to see and make sure for himself that his dad was really okay.

"Dad is very tired after the operation, honey. He won't wake up until sometime tomorrow and he won't be himself right away."

Elias had reluctantly accepted that. Scully was finally able to see Mulder. A nurse showed her to the room where he was resting. Doggett had left a couple of hours earlier, right after they had got the good news. Scully pulled a chair close to his bed and sat down taking his lifeless hand in hers.

"I love you, Mulder", she whispered, crying again. "Never do that again. I was so afraid I was going to lose you", she cried into the bed next to his head.

All the monitors beeped regularly and soon they had lulled Scully to sleep. She woke up in the middle of the night in her uncomfortable position. She slowly got up and kissed Mulder on the forehead before leaving his room. She went to one of the hospital's waiting rooms. There was nobody in there so she crashed one of the couches and slept until she was awaken by a young nurse.

"I am sorry, miss, but you can't sleep in here", she told her.

Scully slowly sat herself up in the couch. "I am sorry", she told the nurse which name tag read: 'Tracy Braeden'. "My husband had surgery last night, and I was in no condition to drive home."

"Oh, I am sorry", Nurse Braeden said, a bit embarrassed.

"It's alright. He's gonna be fine, thank God", Scully couldn't help the relieved smile on her face.

"I am glad", the young nurse smiled back. "Oh, is your husband the federal agent who came in last night with bullet wounds?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"I was just on my way to check up on him", she smiled. "It's not visiting hours but… you wanna see how he's doing?"

"I would love to", Scully said appreciative.

The chair Scully had sat in last night had been pushed back up against the wall so Scully pulled it back to the bed before sitting down and holding his hand. His afternoon shadow had turned into a 'next morning shadow' and Scully remembered how he always teased her when he didn't shave, running his unshaved chin against her cheek.

"Everything looks fine", the nurse said after her little routine check. "If anyone asks, I didn't let you in", she smiled on her way out.

"Thanks", Scully smiled back.

Scully checked her watch. 6.30 am. She would have to wait an hour or so before calling to let work know she was taking a couple of personal days. Skinner had probably already made it happen but she would have to call anyway. Elias was probably up by now. She decided to call home and say good morning. They were all fine and the night had gone great. William had woken his grandmother thrice but she had said he had fallen back to sleep as soon as he had had his bottle or a change of diaper.

The hours passed and Scully kept her eyes at Mulder. So happy he was going to be fine but at the same time still shook up by the major shock she had gotten when she had had to consider what she would do if she were to lose him. And the scariest part was that there wasn't any answer. There was no her without him. She could never be herself again if she were to lose such a big part of her.

"Scully?" his strained voice reached her.

"Mulder! I am right here", she told him, tightening her hold on his hand.

"Where…" he tried asking but coughed instead.

"You're in the hospital, Mulder. You were shot in a church and brought here last night. You took two bullets in your stomach and one in the neck but luck would have it you stay with us a bit longer", she told him smiling.

"Shot in a church?" he chuckled hoarsely. "I know I have been bad but…"

"You haven't been bad, Mulder", she told him. "You're the kindest husband and the greatest father. You risk your life everyday to keep people safe from harm. You fight bad guys. But you! You're one of the good guys, Mulder."

"Kiss me, Scully?" he asked her.

She got up from the chair and carefully put her lips on his. His tongue was instantly caressing her lips, asking for entrance to her mouth, which she granted. Their tongues were dueling, his hand came into her hair, and her tears were falling, slowly down her cheeks and mingling into their kiss. Mulder felt the tears on his lips and tasted their salty flavor. He opened his eyes to see her crying, and he broke the kiss.

"Scully? You're crying", he stated, kissing her tears away with his hand still in her hair.

"I am sorry, Mulder. I am just so happy you're alive", she chuckled nervous. "Last night I was so scared", she let him know. "While you were being operated on I didn't know if I was ever going to see you alive again. I tried not to, but I thought about you never seeing the boys grow up. Never being able to kiss your lips again."

"I am the one who should be sorry, Scully. I should have been more careful. I knew the kid was dangerous. I just… I didn't think he was gonna shoot me. I should be prepared for that though. From now on I'll always wear a Kevlar when I am in the field. No matter what!"

"That wouldn't have prevented the bullet in your neck, Mulder. It could have hit an artery", Scully pointed out.

"But at least it will be safer", he shrugged. "Maybe I should just… stop doing field work."

"You think you're gonna be able to let Agent Doggett do all the fun while you sit in the office all day?"

"Yeah, I… Maybe not", he sighed. "No, probably not."

"Your work is with the X-files, Mulder. It's a dangerous job, we have always known that. And we have always known that this could happen one day. It's just especially hard now. We're married, we have two amazing kids, we have a life together, Mulder. If something were to happen to you, I don't just lose a partner and a friend, even though that would have been hard enough. I lose so much more, Mulder."

"I know, Scully", he said remorseful. "Do you think it might be time I leave the X-files?"

"I… I don't know, Mulder. I think that's up for you to decide. All I know is; I would be a lot less worried if I knew for sure you wasn't hunting paranormal creatures, and risking your life to find the truth."

"Maybe I have found the truth, Scully", he said with a knowing smile on his lips. "When I first set out to discover the truth, it was the truth of what happened to my sister. I know that now. It wasn't the truth I had hoped for, so the truth for me changed, and I didn't know what I was looking for anymore. But when I am with you. With Elias and William. It's like my heart is at peace. The times I have been the most at peace have been times like; when we won the trial and Elias was staying with us. The day of our wedding. The day I signed the papers that legally made me Elias' father. When he called me 'dad' for the first time. The day we found out you were pregnant. When William was finally born. And when I held him in my arms for the first time", he said smiling as he remembered all the happy moments.

"Maybe I have found the truth I didn't know I was looking for, Scully. Maybe the X-files are ready to be left to someone else."

"You think Agent Doggett is suitable for that task?" she asked surprised.

"Maybe not alone", Mulder chuckled. "But maybe if he were to be paired with someone. Someone who believes even more than I do."

"Monica Reyes?" Scully asked knowingly. She had met her a couple of times when Reyes had been assisting Doggett and Mulder.

"I think Agent Reyes would do remarkably well on the X-files, don't you, Scully?"

"I think she would do remarkably well driving Agent Doggett insane!" Scully answered truthfully.

"There was a time, I was driving you insane", he reminded her with a wink.

"Yeah but we were… You think they like each other, don't you?"

"I know they do. But that's not why I think they would be a remarkable team. The X-files needs a believer and a skeptic, Scully. Before you, the X-files was nothing. You gave it credibility… to some extent. Your need for evidence made the work believable", he told her, capturing her mouth once again.

Their kiss was deeper this time. Scully placed her hands on both sides of his head, while he ran his fingers through her red hair. Soon they were moaning into their kiss, and he felt dizzy as the somewhat small amount of blood he had left in his body all ran south.

"Sorry", he said as he broke their kiss.

"Are you okay, Mulder? Did I hurt you?"

"No, no", he chuckled. "I just felt dizzy."

A doctor walked in through the door with Mulder's file in hands. It was Dr. Philmore from last night, the doctor who had performed the surgery on Mulder.

"Hello, Agent Mulder. Good to see you're up…" that's all the doctor said before having to cough in order not to laugh too much.

At first Scully didn't understand, but then she saw a certain part of Mulder's anatomy stand to attention under the Hospital bed linen. Scully's cheeks grew a dark shade of red instantly.

"Well, you certainly seem more alive than yesterday", the doctor chuckled under his breath. "How are you feeling, Agent Mulder?"

"Right now? I wish somebody would shoot me, but it seems someone already has, so I guess I am doing great", he said dryly, clearly very embarrassed for once.

"I am glad to hear that", Dr. Philmore smiles. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Considering the bullet holes, I am doing okay."

"That's good", he smiles friendly. "Just call if you need anything. Lunch will be served in a few minutes. There's a cafeteria if you should get hungry as well, Mrs. Mulder."

"Thank you", she smiled at the doctor before he left again.

"You should go eat, Scully", Mulder said with his worried look. "For the baby's milk."

"That reminds me of something, Mulder! Have you used the expression; 'booby milk' with Elias?" Scully asked accusing.

"Well… I may have", he coughed looking down. "I am not feeling so good, Scully. Maybe I should rest."

"Mulder! Is it that hard to say breast instead of booby?"

"It just slipped. Besides booby milk sounds more fun", he smiled his lopsided grin.

"You know what? It's your fault Elias still talks with food in his mouth!"

"I try not to", he says sad with his puppy dog eyes. "Do you still love me, my dearest Danakins?"

"Of course, my foxy Foxman", she chuckled and leaned over to kiss him once again.

Scully stayed all day with Mulder in the hospital but soon it was night time and she wanted to get home to the kids, and let her mom get home as well.

"I'll come back tomorrow", Scully tells Mulder and kisses him gently on the mouth. "And I'll bring the kids", she adds remembering tomorrow is Saturday and Elias don't have school.

"Good", Mulder smiles. "I miss them so much. Call me when you get home, okay? I wanna say goodnight to the kids as well."

"Of course", she smiles and kisses him one last time before leaving.

It's no more than 9 the next morning when she arrives with the kids. Elias hasn't been able to wait and has hardly slept at all during the night.

"Dad!" he exclaims happily as he sees him sitting up in bed.

"My little champion!" Mulder exclaims just as happy to see his son. "Come here!" he tells him and opens his arms for a hug.

"Careful!" Scully tells them with the baby on her arm.

Mulder and Elias don't care though. They give each other a big bear hug. When they finally let go, Elias crawl to the end of the bed and sits there, looking happy up at his dad. "We missed you", Elias tells him.

"I missed you too, buddy", Mulder says smiling. "And I missed my little baby buddy as well", he says extending his arms towards Scully, for her to give him the baby.

"Are you sure, Mulder?" she asks a bit worried, even though William eagerly reaches his choppy arms out towards his daddy.

"Of course!" Mulder says without a doubt, and takes the baby in his arms. He winces a bit at the pain in his stomach but ignores it.

"Did you miss your daddy?" he asks the baby, who stares at him with his big blue Scully eyes before giggling and blowing a spit bubble. "Oh, I think you did!"

Before long Elias fell asleep in the end of Mulder's hospital bed, worn out from worrying about his father, and the joy of finally seeing him. William was fast asleep in his chair, where Scully had put him to rest, after giving him a bottle.

"I called Skinner last night", Mulder tells Scully who is sitting next to Mulder in the bed. "I told him about my plans of leaving the X-files, and he understands fully. He's going to contact Agent Reyes Monday."

"That's great, Mulder", Scully sigh content, and cuddle up to him.

With an arm around her shoulder he kisses her forehead tenderly. "I might go back to profiling. Or I might even quit the FBI all together."

"You could teach. God knows, Quantico could use qualified instructors like you."

"That way I could come down to your little office at lunch time. We might get a little crazy, and make love on your desk", he whispers close to her ear in a very husky voice.

"Mmh, that would be a very nice lunch break", she whispers back.

"Ehm, Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you asked the doctor if I can… well, if it's okay for me to have sex once I get out of here?"

"No, I haven't", she laughs. "But as a qualified MD myself, I am sorry to inform you that your abdominal muscles might not be able to take that kind of effort just yet."

He sighs audible at that statement.

"Unless of course… I am on top, and you remain somewhat still", she whispers seductively.

"I love you so much, Scully", he chuckles. "And I can't wait to get out of here."

"I can't wait to get you home either", she tells him and hugs him.

"Home with you and the kids is where I belong."

* * *

_I hope you all enjoyed this last and very late chapter._

_Thanks to everyone who has followed and reviewed this story, please leave a last review, and tell me if this last chapter lived up to your expectations. _


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